Micron Technology said it started volume production of the world’s first 232-layer NAND storage solution, a move which comes almost exactly a year after the company touted 176-layer NAND, and could enable a new generation of storage devices faster and more robust than anything currently on the market.
“Micron’s 232-layer NAND is a watershed moment for storage innovation as first proof of the capability to scale 3D NAND to more than 200 layers in production,” said Scott DeBoer, executive vice president of technology and products at Micron. “This groundbreaking technology required extensive innovation, including advanced process capabilities to create high aspect ratio structures, novel materials advancements and leading-edge design enhancements that build on our market-leading 176-layer NAND technology.”
The 232-layer NAND supports 50% faster data transfers than the fastest interface enabled on Micron’s 176-layer node, the company said, while also delivering up to 100% higher write bandwidth and more than 75% higher read bandwidth per die than the prior generation.
The new NAND has an I/O speed of 2.4 Gbps, which Micron said will boost the performance of data-centric workloads such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, unstructured databases and real-time analytics, and cloud computing, all of which have special requirements for low latency in addition to high throughput. It also has a 28% smaller footprint and improved density.
Alvaro Toledo, vice president and general manager of Data Center Storage at Micron, told Fierce Electronics via email, “Flash affects almost every aspect of our daily lives in everything from drones to driving to data centers. We believe that 232-layer NAND flash brings value to all segments.”
He further expanded on its benefits for different segments and applications, noting:
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The package size reduction of 28% and density improvements help client devices achieve compact designs without sacrificing storage.
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For mobile use-cases, large capacity with up to 2TB per package and the fastest transfer rate available will help transform smartphones into complex devices such as mobile video production studios.
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In the data center 100% higher write bandwidth and over 75% higher read bandwidth will enable further advancements in applications such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and real-time services while increased density helps save valuable real estate in server racks strained by new data demands.
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For edge applications, higher capacity and performance is critically important to enable longer video recording times for high resolution action cameras and other data storage devices.
Toledo said the 232-layer NAND already is shipping to customers in component form. “We are seeing significant interest from major OEMs and flash innovators like Pure Storage in providing Micron’s leading NAND benefits to their products,” he said, adding that the 176-layer NAND continues to be used as well.