Using 3D V-NAND memory will allow you to create a 10 TB SSD 30.11.2014

3D V-NAND flash memory has already proven its worth: not only does it offer more storage capacity than traditional MLC chips, but it is also highly reliable, unlike the infamous TLC. It seems that 3D V-NAND is about to make a breakthrough in the field of affordable solid state drives with volumes comparable to the latest generation of traditional HDDs. We are talking about capacities of 10 terabytes and above.

This is exactly the initiative put forward by Intel Corporation. At a recent Intel investor meeting, it was announced that in the second half of 2015, the Intel-Micron Flash Technologies joint venture will begin mass production of 256Gb and 384Gb multilayer chips.

In the latter case, three-level cells will be used. The three-dimensional structure of the new 3D-NAND chips will have 32 layers of chips connected using an array of special vertical structures similar to traditional TSV (through silicon via). The emergence of flash memory chips with such a capacity will open the way to the creation of solid-state drives of a huge volume that is simply not available today. Rob Crooke, vice president of Intel's non-volatile memory division, believes that SSDs based on the new technology could exceed 10 terabytes in the next two years. In comparison, SanDisk, which wanted to create a 4 terabyte SSD based on traditional in-plane technologies, had to use 64 monstrously expensive 512 gigabit (64 GB) eMLC chips, each of which carries four 128 gigabit dies in one package. These chips are manufactured using a state-of-the-art thin manufacturing process, which increases their cost, but does not add reliability at all.

But "three-dimensional" Intel-Micron chips with a capacity of 256 and 384 gigabits (32 and 48 GB, respectively) will use larger and much cheaper technical processes, and at the same time more reliable ones. Unfortunately, Intel is still silent about what kind of process technology is in question. But working prototypes of SSDs based on 256Gb "128D" chips already exist, and one of them was demonstrated at the aforementioned event. It should be noted that Samsung is also actively producing "three-dimensional" flash memory: its 24-gigabit chips have 32 or 42 layers and use technological standards that are unusually large by today's standards - 86 nanometers. The "apparent capacity" of these microcircuits is 256 Gbit; Samsung seems to be playing it safe, wanting to avoid hypothetical problems with the new technology at all costs. Against this background, the Intel-Micron project, which starts immediately with a XNUMX-gigabit capacity, looks much more ambitious, but the cost of the final product with this approach will be noticeably lower. And of course, ordinary users will also benefit from this.

But even if Intel's new chips have a better price-to-capacity ratio, the Intel-Micron alliance's ability to manufacture them does not yet allow us to talk about a serious impact on the NAND market. According to ChinaFlashMarket.com, the IMFT alliance factory can produce about 70 300mm wafers per month, and this number includes different types of memory. Using the IMFS and MTV factories could produce another 80 to 40 300mm wafers a month, but that's nothing compared to Samsung's capacity. Only one of the factories of the South Korean giant, specially built for the production of new types of flash memory, is capable of producing 100 wafers per month, while the rest of Samsung's production facilities, suitable for the same purpose, can supply over 400 wafers in the same period of time.

In other words, Intel's new multi-layer flash memory chips may not revolutionize the entire SSD market, but they will make high-capacity models more accessible to users and allow the company to significantly strengthen its position in this microelectronics industry. Intel's NAND and SSD divisions are expected to have combined revenue of approximately $2014 billion in 2, and the introduction of new 256-Gigabit multi-layer chips will increase this figure in the coming years.