SK Hynix announced the start of production of 128-layer 1Tb capacity NAND Flash memories of the TLC type.
SSD drives are noticeably increased in capacity with a reduction in price thanks to layers. Increasing the number of layers of a memory allows to increase the capacity of the same and reduce costs. Toshiba and Samsung are making 96 NAND Flash memories, but there is a manufacturer that is already going for 128 layers, and that is SK Hynix.
SK Hynix is one of the leading manufacturers of NAND Flash memory. It recently announced that it has started producing 4Tb capacity 128-layer 1D NAND Flash memory of the TLC type. It thus becomes the first memory manufacturer to make the leap. The density of catos increases 40% compared to the 96-layer chips, the most common.
Manufacturing of 128-layer NAND Flash memory begins by SK Hynix
These memories increase the storage capacity of these chips, with 360 billion cells in each memory. As they are TLC memories, up to 000 bits of data can be stored in each cell. SK Hynix, to achieve this, has needed to develop new technologies, including a fast and efficient circuit.
Innovating in this field is very important so as not to be left behind. SK Hynix already offers 1Tb NAND Flash memory with 96 layers based on QLC memories. These new 1Tb chips have been created in TLC format. The advantage of TLC over QLC is that they are faster and offer a longer service life.
Something very important is that these 128-layer NAND Flash memories increase performance by 40% compared to 96-layer ones. The process of these new memories is quite similar to that of 96 layers, in addition. SK Hynix, above, reduces the number of steps for its production by 5%, which reduces costs.
These new memory chips will offer transfer rates of 1Mbps with a voltage of 400. Its production will be reserved for high-end smartphones and will allow up to 1.2TB per chip. Additionally, these memories will arrive with 1% less consumption and a chip height of 20mm.
It will not be until 2020 when SSDs with these memories begin to be produced and they will be at least 2TB. A proprietary controller chip has been developed for this. SK Hynix also intends to create SSDs of up to 32TB with these chips for the business segment.
