Samsung Electronics mass-produces the first 256 gigabit, 3D V-NAND flash memory

     Samsung Electronics announced that it has begun mass production of the industry's first 256 Gigabit (GB), 3D (3D based on 48-layer 3-bit multistage cell (MLC) arrays for use in solid-state drives (SSDS)) vertical NAND (V-NAND) flash memory.

     "With our launch of the third-generation V-NAND flash memory to the global market, we can now offer the best advanced memory solution based on improved performance, power utilization and production efficiency, with higher efficiency, thus accelerating the high-growth performance and high-density SSD market," said Hyun-joon Yang, President of Memory Business, Samsung Electronics. "By leveraging the superior features of Samsung V-NAND, we will expand our premium business in the enterprise and data center segments, as well as in the consumer market, while continuing to strengthen our strategic focus on SSDS."

     Samsung's new 256GB 3D V-NAND flash doubles the density of regular 128GB NAND flash chips. In addition to supporting memory storage of 32 gigabytes (256 gigabits) on a single chip, the new chip will also easily double the capabilities of Samsung's existing lineup of SSDS and provide the ideal solution for terabyte SSDS.

     Samsung launched its second generation V-NAND (32-layer 3-bit MLC V-NAND) chip in August 2014 and in just one year launched its third generation V-NAND (48-layer 3-bit MLC V-NAND) chip in continuing to lead the 3D era in memory.

     In the new V-NAND chip, each cell utilizes the same 3D charge-captured flash memory (CTF) structure, where arrays of cells are stacked vertically to form an array that is electrically connected through about 180 billion channel holes with a 48-layer mass thanks to a special etching technique. In all, each chip contains more than 85.3 billion cells. They can each store 3 bits of data, resulting in 256 billion bits of data, in other words, no more than the size of a fingertip on a 256GB chip.

      A 48-layer 3-bit MLC 256GB V-NAND flash chip delivers over 30% less power than a 32-layer, 3-bit MLC, 128GB V-NAND chip when storing the same amount of data. During the production process, the new chip also achieves approximately 40% more efficiency than its 32-layer predecessor, which can bring much improved cost competitiveness to the SSD market while primarily utilizing existing devices.

     Samsung plans to produce the third-generation V-NAND throughout the rest of 2015, enabling more accelerated adoption of TB-class SSD levels. While SSDS are currently introduced with two terabytes of density and above for consumers, Samsung also plans to increase sales of high-density SSDS with leading PCIe NVMe and SAS interfaces for the enterprise and data center storage markets.