Samsung Electronics has started mass production of 256Gb 3D Vertical NAND (V-NAND) flash memory based on 48 layers of 3-bit multi-level-cell (MLC) arrays for use in solid state drives (SSDs).
The new chip doubles the capacity of Samsung’s existing SSD line-ups while providing ideal solution for multi-terabyte SSDs.
The company said 256Gb 3D V-NAND flash also doubles the density of conventional 128Gb NAND flash chips.
In August last year, Samsung launched its 2nd generation V-NAND (32-layer 3-bit MLC V-NAND) to enhance 3D memory era.
According to Samsung, each cell in V-NAND chip utilizes the same 3D Charge Trap Flash (CTF) structure in which the cell arrays are stacked vertically to form a 48-storied mass while in total each chip contains over 85.3 billion cells.
Company officials said each chip can store 3 bits of data resulting 256 billion bits of data.
Additionally, 48-layer 3-bit MLC 256Gb V-NAND lash chip delivers more than a 30 percent reduction in power compared to a 32-layer, 3-bit MLC, 128Gb V-NAND chip, when storing the same amount of data.
This apart, new chip also achieves approximately 40 percent more productivity over its 32-layer predecessor.
In addition, Samsung also plans to increase its high-density SSD sales for the enterprise and data center storage markets with leading-edge PCIe NVMe and SAS interfaces.
“We can now provide the best advanced memory solutions, with even higher efficiency based on improved performance, power utilization and manufacturing productivity, thereby accelerating high-density SSD markets,” said Young-Hyun Jun, president of the Memory Business at Samsung Electronics.
Few days ago, Samsung launched PM863 and SM863, new lineup of high performance SATA solid state drives (SSDs) for small and medium sized businesses (SMBs).
Last month, Samsung enhanced its 3D Vertical NAND (V-NAND) based retail SSD lineup with the addition of 2-terabyte (TB) 850 PRO and 850 EVO solid state drives (SSDs).
Shilpa Khatri
