SK Hynix Presents 238 Layer 3D Nand for Faster and Cheaper SSDs

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Memory manufacturer SK hynix has developed 3D Nand memory with 238 layers, the highest number of layers in the industry. These chips will be the first to be used in SSDs for desktops. Mass production will start in the first half of next year.

The 238-layer nand memory is tlc-nand and should follow the current 176-layer nand generation, writes SK hynix. The South Korean manufacturer introduces the new memory type in the form of 512Gbit chips, each of which has a capacity of 64GB. In time, that density should be doubled to 1Tbit or 128GB per chip.

According to the manufacturer, the speed is 50 percent higher than its previous generation nandflash, with transfer speeds of 2.4 Gbit/s per chip. The power consumption when executing read assignments has also been reduced by 21 percent. Moreover, with the step to 238 layers, the die size for tlc nand chips decreases, which means that SK hynix can extract more memory from a wafer. This should ensure, among other things, lower production costs.

The manufacturer calls this memory “4d-nand,” a marketing name the company has been using since 2018 to designate memory with a chargetrapflash design, or ctf design, and a peri-under-cell layout. With ctf, those charges are stored in an insulator. Traditionally, nand chips are produced with floating gate designs, where electrical charges are stored in a conductor. The ctf approach should avoid interference between memory cells for better performance. With periphery under cell, peripheral circuits are placed directly below the memory cell. Normally those circuits are next to the memory cell. According to SK hynix, this improves production efficiency and density.

SK hynix will begin mass production of its 238-layer nand memory in the first half of 2023. The chips are primarily used in client SSDs for PCs and laptops. Server SSDs and storage chips for smartphones will follow later. The 1Tbit chips with 238 layers will also follow in 2023, but a more concrete release period is not given.

Source: SK hynix

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