“In reality, we have typically added 10% to 15% to wafer cost for each new generation, depending the inputs from tool vendors,” Webb said in a recent presentation. On average, vendors are adding 30% to 50% more layers for each 3D NAND generation, according to Mark Webb, principal at MKW Ventures Consulting. As vendors add more layers, the manufacturing challenges increase with higher costs. It’s unclear how far 3D NAND will extend, but each technology migration is more difficult than the previous one. In R&D, meanwhile, vendors are working on 256-layer products and beyond. Today, suppliers are shipping 64- and 96-layer 3D NAND devices and are now racing each other to ramp up products at the next technology generations, with 128 and 176 layers.įig. In 2013, Samsung shipped the world’s first 3D NAND, a 24-layer 128Gbit device. As more layers are added, the bit density increases, enabling products with more storage capacity. Unlike planar NAND, which is a 2D structure, 3D NAND resembles a vertical skyscraper in which horizontal layers of memory cells are stacked and then connected using tiny vertical channels.ģD NAND is quantified by the number of layers stacked in a device. It is used for storage applications such as smartphones and solid-state storage drives (SSDs). But YMTC’s parent company, Tsinghua Unigroup, has defaulted on its bond payments, leaving a cloud over the company.ģD NAND is the successor to today’s planar NAND flash memory. (YMTC), the newcomer in 3D NAND, is hoping to keep pace. And finally, China’s Yangtze Memory Technologies Co. In addition, after a period of losses in the memory sector, Intel recently exited the 3D NAND market, selling the business to SK Hynix for $9 billion. There is a potential oversupply heading into 2021. On the business front, meanwhile, the industry is undergoing some turbulence. But Samsung and the Kioxia-Western Digital (WD) duo are readying their next 3D NAND products, as well. Two suppliers, Micron and SK Hynix, recently leapfrogged the competition and have taken the scaling race lead in 3D NAND. 3D NAND suppliers are accelerating their efforts to move to the next technology nodes in a race against growing competition, but all of these vendors are facing an assortment of new business, manufacturing, and cost challenges.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |