Western Digital and Kioxia present BiCS5 nand memory with 112 layers

Western Digital and Kioxia, formerly Toshiba Memory, have presented the fifth generation of their 3D nand memory under the name BiCS5. The nand memory consists of 112 layers; the fourth generation had 96 layers.

Western Digital and Kioxia have it BiCS5 memory developed together, Kioxia produces it. In a press release reports Western Digital that the company is already using a 512Gbit chip in the new nand memory in consumer products. This is TLC nand memory. However, large-scale production is not expected until the second half of 2020.

The BiCS5 memory will be used as both a tlc nand and a qlc nand. In addition to the 512Gbit chip, there will also be variants with a capacity of 1Tbit and 1.33Tbit. According to the manufacturers, the memory density has increased by 20 percent compared to BiCS4 through the use of more layers and “advanced process technology.” The speed would have increased by 50 percent compared to the predecessor.

Other memory manufacturers preceded Western Digital and Kioxia. SK Hynix already started production of nand memory with 128 layers last year. Samsung released SSDs last year with the sixth generation of its v-nand memory, which consists of “more than 100” layers.