Samsung's 176-layer 3D NAND performance parameters revealed

In the beginning, the development of NAND Flash started with a 2D planar structure, but under the pressure of size reduction and increased density, NAND Flash has been upgraded from a planar structure to a three-dimensional structure, and gradually increased the number of layers of memory cells through the improvement of process technology. ), the storage units are stacked more and more like a building. From the development of 32-layer 3D NAND in 2014 to the mass production of 100+ stacked layers, the capacity of wafer per unit area has increased several times, which is also the main factor for the continuous growth of NAND Flash output.

The upward breakthrough in the number of stacked layers is also one of the main tracks of the original technology competition. Following the release of 176-layer 3D NAND by Micron and SK Hynix last year, Kioxia and Western Digital also announced the launch of a new generation of 162-layer flash memory technology in February this year. In contrast, the storage leader Samsung has been very low-key in this round of technology competition. It only mentioned the next-generation 176-layer technology in the first quarter financial report meeting. In addition, it is more related to Korean media reports. .

According to sources, Samsung`s 7th-generation 176-layer 3D NAND will use "dual stack" technology, and plans to launch consumer SSDs based on this technology in the second half of this year. It also plans to expand to data center SSD products. Although Samsung's official website has not systematically disclosed the specific specifications of 176-layer 3D NAND products, however, in an academic conference in February this year, Samsung disclosed this in detail.

In the article, Samsung introduced the main technical difficulties it faced in the research and development process:

1. As the number of layers increases, the cell-string resistance increases;

2. As the storage unit interval shrinks, the interference between units increases;

3. Higher I/O bandwidth is required to speed up data transmission;

4. Since the area of the peripheral circuit and the storage array are equivalent, miniaturization of the chip size is also a challenge.

By combining four 128Gb storage arrays together, the 7th generation V-NAND has a single Die capacity of 512Gb, with read and write performances of 1.84GB/s, 184MB/s, and I/O speeds of 2Gbps. The previous generation has achieved a significant improvement.

The explosive growth of data is the fundamental driving force that promotes the improvement of flash memory technology, so the parameter of storage density has naturally become a key parameter that people pay attention to. The article shows that Samsung's 176-layer TLC product has a storage density of 8.5Gb/mm², the highest among all previous generations.

Comparing Samsung's 176-layer products with the latest products of SK Hynix and Western Digital/Kioxia, although the capacity density is not optimal, they are superior in write performance and I/O speed, and each product has its own strengths and weaknesses.

In the past, although the original manufacturers have their own advantages in 3D NAND technology, the pursuit of high-capacity, high-performance, and low-power devices is an eternal truth. In order to achieve this goal, major OEMs continue to make breakthroughs and set records time and time again. This is also the secret of the continued vitality of the storage industry.