SK Hynix: TLC NAND memory with more than 300 layers enters the series 19 comments
Image: SK Hynix
SK Hynix is now mass-producing 321-layer NAND, introduced this summer. The company announced this publicly today. The 300 diaper mark has been exceeded for the first time. This is TLC NAND with 3 bits per cell and 1 Tbit per chip.
This means that 3D NAND, which SK hynix calls “4D NAND”, offers more cell layers than Micron‘s G9 with 276 layers or Samsung’s V9 with 286 layers. But this says nothing about the properties of memory. In addition to surface density, performance and durability also play a role.
In terms of storage capacity per chip, all TLC memories mentioned are 1 Tbit, which in previous generations was reserved for 4 bits per cell QLC variants. Previously, TLC storage typically had 512 Gbits, or half the storage volume.
SK Hynix had previously talked about more than 20 Gbit/mm² for its 321-layer TLC NAND. A concrete figure is still not available, but the area density should be higher than Samsung’s V9 TLC. However, the favorite in terms of area density remains Samsung’s V9 QLC with 28.5 Gbit/mm².
SK Hynix also wants to increase performance with the new generation and talks about 12% higher transfer rates and 13% higher read performance compared to the previous generation. As is often the case, this information is not concrete. However, they don’t look as good as the increases for “300+ Layer NAND” mentioned at ISSCC 2023. The information in the table below may now be out of date.
The new memory chips are expected to be available in products during the first half of 2025.
TLC 3D-NAND in comparison Micron G9 Micron B58R Kioxia/WD BiCS6 Samsung V9* Samsung V8 SK Hynix V9* SK Hynix V8 YMTC Type (bit/cell) TLC (3 bits) Capacity 1 Tbit Aircraft 6 4 ? 4 6 Layer (WL) 276 (2×138) 232 (2×116) 162 (2×81) 286 (2×143) 238 321 (3×107) 238 (2×119 ?) 232 Matrix surface ~ 49 mm² ~70 mm² 98 mm² ~60 mm² 89 mm²? 89 mm² 68 mm² Density 21 Gb/mm² 14.6 Gb/mm² 10.4 Gb/mm² ~17 Gb/mm² 11.5 Gb/mm² >20 Gb/mm² 11.5 Gb/mm² 15 Gb/mm² Reading (tR ) ? 50µs? 45 µs 34 µs 45 µs ? program? 160 MB/s? 164 MB/s 194 MB/s 164 MB/s ? I/O 3.6 Gb/s 2.4 Gb/s 2.0 Gb/s 3.2 Gb/s 2.4 Gb/s 2.4 Gb/s 2.4 Gb/s *Key data in part unconfirmed, respectively estimated or obsolete Topics: SK Hynix Storage 3D NAND flash memory Source: SK Hynix
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