SK Hynix 300-layer NAND flash teased
The company is nearing the competition of its 8th Gen 3D NAND technology, shares Tom’s Hardware.
SK Hynix has been at the forefront of innovations with their multi-layer NAND technology. Only in August last year, the company announced the development of 238-layer 4D NAND flash memory. This memory is expected to enter mass production in the first half of this year. But as this technology enters the market, SK Hynix is now looking further.
Tom’s Hardware has new information on the future 8th Gen 3D NAND technology. It would feature more than 300 layers enabling 1Tb (128GB) capacities at a much higher density of 20 Gb per square mm. It would have the faster throughput than 238-layer memory by 18%, reaching as high as 194 MB/s.
Future 20 Gb/mm2 NAND memory, Source: SK Hynix/Tom’s Hardware
The company shared their goals in achieving higher density NAND flash, including:
- Triple-Verify Program (TPGM) feature that narrows cell threshold voltage distribution and reduces tPROG (program time) by 10%, which translates into higher performance;
- Adaptive Unselected String Pre-Charge (AUSP) — another procedure to reduce tPROG by around 2%;
- All-Pass Rising (APR) scheme that reduces tR (read time) by approximately 2% and cuts word line rising time;
- Programmed Dummy String (PDS) technique that cuts world line settling time for tPROG and tR by reducing channel capacitance load;
- Plane-Level Read Retry (PLRR) capability that allows to change read level of a plane without terminating others therefore issuing subsequent read commands immediately and improving quality of service (QoS) and therefore read performance.
Unfortunately, there are no official details on this 300-layer memory yet. The slide and information is likely from the recent ISSCC presentation. In fact, there is no mention of this upcoming tech on the SK Hynix website yet, so it is unclear when would this technology enter mass production. However, 2024 would be a good guess.
Source: SK Hynix
