SK hynix Inc. on Monday announced that it successfully created a 176-layer 4D NAND flash chip semiconductor that features better performance and productivity to increase its technological presence in the industry.
According to SK hynix, the 176-layer 512 Gigabit (Gb) Triple-Level Cell (TLC) 4D NAND flash contained an improved data transfer speed. The company also already provided product samples to controller companies last month to make various flash memory devices and SD cards.
The new chip classifies as the third generation of 4D products that emphasize the industry’s best number of chips per wafer.
Since 2018, the company has promoted 4D technology from its 96-layer NAND flash products. The technology includes peri under cell (PUC) technology into charge trap flash (CTF) cell structure to maximize space efficiency.
PUC comprises a technology that relocates peripheral circuits under the cell array while the CTF collects electric charges in insulators. This technology also removes interference between cells and decreases cell area per unit compared to floating gate technology.
The company said that the technology improved its productivity by 35 percent compared to the previous generation of chips in terms of cost efficiencies. The latest flash chip adopts 2-division cell array selection technology and increases the cell read speed by 20 percent. The data transfer speed also improved by 33 percent to 1.6Gbps.
Growing Market
According to Omdia, the NAND flash market estimates at 431.8 billion gigabytes in 2020 and would increase to 1.366 trillion gigabytes in 2024. The annual growth rate would also become 33.4 percent.
SK hynix intends to release mobile solution products with maximum read of 70 percent and write speeds of 35 percent. The company stated that it would also develop 1 Terabit (Tb) products based on 176-layer 4D NAND.
TrendForce said that SK hynix ranks as the world’s fourth-largest NAND flash supplier with an 11.3 percent market share. It recently acquired a deal to buy Intel Corp.’s NAND business for US$9 billion in October.
With the acquisition, SK hynix would include the second largest market share in the NAND industry after Samsung.
