As the competition in the NAND memory chip industry continued, Micron’s 176-tier products began to be launched.
We heard that Intel is working on 144-layer QLC flash SSDs. We even know that Samsung has developed 160-layer NAND chips. Micron, on the other hand, announced that it has started mass production on the new generation 176 layer 3D NAND chips and that the shipment has started.
The new fifth generation 3D TLC chips offer high scaling. Micron also claims that these 3D NAND chips are faster and offer the highest bit density ever.
Micron’s previous generation 96 layer and 128 layer flash was only able to operate at speeds up to 1,200 MTps. However, the new 176 layer flash can reach up to 1,600 MTps. The result is a 35% improvement in read and write latency compared to the 96-layer TLC chip. In TLC 128 tier, this difference is at the level of 25%.
Scott J. DeBoer, vice president of technology and products at Micron, says the following about their new technology:
“ Micron’s 176-layer 3D NAND development raises the bar in the industry with almost 40% higher layers than our closest competitor. This technology, combined with Micron’s CMOS subarray architecture, enables it to maintain its leadership in the cost side. “
Although Crucial products using new NAND chips have begun to ship, the company did not provide any model names. However, Crucial’s P5 may be one of the first candidates to have 3D flash chips.
In the meantime, it should be noted that chips based on new technology do not only reach end consumers. The company also markets its new products for 5G and data centers.
