Samsung confirms to bring 9th generation V-NAND technology next year
As the world’s paramount supplier of NAND flash memory, Samsung has set forth grandiose blueprints for the evolution of its V-NAND technology. Recently, Samsung divulged the latest strides in V-NAND development, reiterating its commitment to commence the manufacturing of products harnessing the 9th generation V-NAND technology by early next year. Surpassing a staggering 300 layers and continuing to embrace the dual-stack architecture, this technology boasts the industry’s zenith in layer count.
The concept of dual-stack architecture entails crafting a 3D NAND flash memory stack on a 300mm wafer, followed by constructing another stack atop the initial foundation. Samsung pioneered this innovation in 2020. The 9th generation V-NAND technology, with its layer count exceeding 300, promises to amplify the storage density of 300mm wafer production, empowering manufacturers to produce cost-efficient solid-state drives or render solid-state drives of analogous storage density and performance more economical. It’s worth noting that SK Hynix previously unveiled the world’s inaugural 321-layer NAND flash memory, positioning itself as the first enterprise to develop NAND flash memory surpassing 300 layers; it remains intriguing to speculate how many layers Samsung might ultimately achieve.
Beyond enhancing storage density, the performance of the new 3D NAND flash memory chips is also set for augmentation. Samsung professed its unyielding endeavor to cultivate next-generation, value-driven technologies, inclusive of innovative architecture to maximize the input/output (I/O) speeds of 3D NAND flash memory. It’s anticipated that Samsung will unveil the successor to the 990 Pro series, introducing a flagship SSD with the PCIe 5.0 interface.
It’s gleaned that, in pursuit of sustaining production volumes, Samsung might incorporate a tri-stack architecture in its 10th-generation V-NAND technology, potentially reaching an impressive 430 layers. This implies an escalation in raw material consumption, subsequently amplifying the cost per 3D NAND wafer. Last year, at the “Samsung Tech Day 2022,” Samsung’s long-term vision was delineated: an aspiration to elevate the layer count to a monumental 1,000 by 2030.
