Intel promises 3d-nand will provide 10TB SSDs within ‘a few years’

Intel will release 3d-nand-based SSDs in 2015 that will have a “disruptive price.” Furthermore, 3d-nand will enable SSDs with a storage capacity of 10TB within a few years, according to the company.

The 3d nand that Intel makes with Micron consists of 32 layers and offers a capacity of 256Gb on a single mlc die. According to the manufacturer, this enables 1TB capacities in a 2mm package and provides a “breakthrough in costs”, but Intel does not mention concrete prices. Ultimately, it would allow 3d-nand SSDs with storage capacities greater than 10TB, and this could be the case within a few years. Rob Crooke, general manager of Intel’s Non-Volatile Memory Solutions Group, announced this during an investor presentation. With TLC memory, the capacity would be 385Gb per die.

Intel has high expectations of the SSD market. Samsung currently makes 3d-nand based on 32 layers, with which a capacity of 86Gb on an MLC die and 128Gb on TLC is achieved. In 2015, a new generation of the so-called 3d-v-nand should appear with which Samsung may be able to compete with Intel. Toshiba and Sandisk are building a factory to produce 3D Nand memory, but SSDs with this type of memory from those manufacturers are not expected until 2016.