This final episode in the Tech Pathfinder series will introduce SK hynix’s advanced 4D NAND technologies. These include its 4D^1.0 technologies, which specialize in stacking and performance improvement such as the Cost-Effective 3-Plug formation, Sideway Source, All Peri.¹ Under Cell (PUC), and Advanced Charge Trap Flash (CTF). It will also cover the 4D^2.0 NAND technologies which overcome the limitations of stacking, such as Multi-Site Cell (MSC).

¹Peripheral circuit (peri.): A circuit that controls the cell.

The Basics of NAND Flash Memory

For a better understanding of 4D NAND technology, it is prudent to review NAND’s basic concepts and related terminology.

Figure 1. An overview of different types of NAND flash memory

A cell is the smallest unit in which information is stored. In NAND flash memory, the cells consist of a control gate and a floating gate. When voltage is applied to the control gate, electrons traveling through the pathway are stored in the floating gate. NAND flash stores data by categorizing cells as either 0 or 1 using electrons stored on the floating gate. This state is characterized by the number of electrons in a cell. For example, a cell with few electrons is read as 0, while a cell with a high number of electrons is interpreted as 1.

NAND flash memory is categorized into different types depending on how much information (bits) is stored in a single cell. These include single-level cell (SLC, 1 bit), multi-level cell (MLC, 2 bits), triple-level cell (TLC, 3 bits), quad-level cell (QLC, 4 bits), and penta-level cell (PLC, 5 bits). As for the units used to measure NAND flash memory capacity, these include references to giga (a billion) and tera (a trillion). In other words, a TLC NAND flash product with a capacity of 1 Tb has about 330 billion cells that store 3 bits each.

4D^1.0 Technology: Reducing Chip Size Through Cell Stacking

There are four main 4D^1.0 NAND technologies SK hynix has employed to develop high-capacity NAND flash solutions.

Figure 2. An overview of the Cost-Effective 3-Plug formation and Sideway Source

Cost-Effective 3-Plug Formation

One of the key goals of developing semiconductor technology is improving cost efficiency. This is achieved by stacking more cells to reduce the chip size and producing as many chips as possible on a single wafer. Stacking substrates layer-by-layer and repeating the cell formation process for each layer would be inefficient and increase manufacturing costs. Therefore, multiple layers of substrate are first stacked, then vertical holes called plugs are drilled through the layers before cells are formed next to the holes.

As the number of layers increases, the more challenging it becomes to form plugs to the bottom layer as existing etching equipment can only etch around 100 layers at a time. Therefore, to develop a NAND flash product with more than 300 layers, it is necessary to stack 100 layers and perform the plug etching process three times. This is where SK hynix’s Cost-Effective 3-Plug formation is used as all the processes, including cell formation, can be performed simultaneously on all layers.

With this, SK hynix was able to conduct a single process to simultaneously fabricate the key structures—word lines² and word line staircases³—that apply voltage and the passageways for electrons. This enabled the company to unveil a 321-layer 4D NAND of the highest density in August 2023 while minimizing costs.

²Word lines: The structure that binds the control gate of each layer of NAND cells.
³Word line staircases: A staircase-like structure for exposing the word line of each layer to the top surface.

Sideway Source

Semiconductor plugs provide a pathway for electrons to travel. Inside a plug, this pathway is covered by CTF film⁴. Therefore, the CTF film needs to be removed at the connection point where the plug and the bottom of the NAND flash layer meet to connect two pathways. Sideway source connects the plug to the bottom of the NAND flash layer (channel and source line⁵). Previously, etching gas was injected from the top of the plug to vertically remove the CTF film at the bottom of the plug. However, when stacking two or more plugs, the centers of the plugs were not aligned. This prevented the etching gas from reaching the bottom, damaging the CTF film on the side of the plug that serves as a cell.

⁴CTF film: A composite of oxide and nitride films that replaces the floating gate.
⁵Source line: Located at the bottom of a NAND layer, the source line is part of a channel inside the plug. Electrons from the source line travel up the channel to the top of the NAND layer and are stored in their respective floating gates.

SK hynix solved this issue by replacing the vertical connection with a horizontal one. The etching gas is injected into a separate pathway to reach the bottom of the NAND layer and remove the CTF film on both sides of the plug.

With Sideway Source technology, the etching gas is not directly injected into the plug. Therefore, even if the plugs are misaligned, the interior remains undamaged. As a result, SK hynix has significantly reduced its defect rate, increased productivity, and addressed the problem of increased costs associated with multiple stacking.

Since SK hynix introduced the industry’s first 4D NAND in 2018, it has enhanced its expertise to produce precise horizontal pathway connections which leave no voids at the bottom of the NAND layer. Based on this advancement, the company improved production efficiency by 34% for its 238-layer NAND flash memory compared to the 176-layer product and further solidified its market leadership with its 321-layer NAND.

Figure 3. An overview of All Peri. Under Cell (PUC)

All Peri. Under Cell (PUC)

PUC reduces the chip size and increases the number of stacks by placing the peripheral circuit (peri.) under the cell. SK hynix used PUC to develop a new NAND flash structure, the world’s first 4D NAND, and then began product development. The company has further developed upon PUC with its All PUC technology, which miniaturizes the peri. so it becomes the same size as the cell or smaller to accommodate the reduced cell size. To advance the technology, SK hynix is further miniaturizing the peri. by reducing the size and number of transistors and fully placing the peri. in the empty space under the cell.

In particular, this technology was used for the first time to great effect in SK hynix’s 238-layer 512 Gb TLC NAND. For this solution, the company reduced the size of the chip and peri. by more than 30% compared to the previous generation, thus improving production efficiency and cost competitiveness. SK hynix will continue to enhance its expertise and perfect the technology so it can be applied to future products that require a smaller peri. and chips.

Figure 4. An overview of Advanced Charge Trap Flash (CTF)

Advanced Charge Trap Flash (CTF)

Advanced CTF minimizes data degradation by retaining more electrons than conventional CTF. In CTF, electrons are stored in nonconductors rather than in conductors such as a floating gate. CTF was therefore developed in part to address inter-cell interference⁶ in conductors by changing the electron storage space to nonconductors. However, electrons often escape from nonconductors as they are stored in the voids of the CTF material (nitrogen-silicon compound) which has unstable areas. When electrons are stored in these unstable areas, the bonds quickly break and the electrons are ejected, resulting in data loss.

⁶Inter-cell interference: Electrons in a cell are affected by electrons in adjacent cells due to device miniaturization, resulting in data corruption.

For its Advanced CTF, SK hynix fills the unstable areas with hydrogen to prevent electrons from entering, and increases the number of binding agents to store more electrons. Furthermore,  Advanced CTF also increases the number of electrons stored in CTF by minimizing the risk of escaped electrons. This improves the ability to determine electron counts, reduces read errors, and significantly shortens latency.

Some types of NAND flash have difficulties distinguishing data when there are a low number of electrons, resulting in errors. For example, if SLC flash memory distinguishes data using ten electrons, data with one to five electrons is 0, and data with six to ten electrons is 1. However, if five electrons escape, the data previously processed as 1 is distorted and an error occurs. This problem worsens as a cell is segmented to the MLC level and higher.

TLC differentiates between eight states from 000 to 111. If there are 10 electrons to distinguish, each state is assigned either one or two electrons. This is a significant difference from SLC, which allocates five electrons per state. Consequently, even if only a few electrons escape, it can lead to data corruption.

In contrast, consider a situation in which Advanced CTF was used to distinguish data with 100 electrons. If the number of electrons is between 0 and 50, the data is read as 0, while if it is between 51 and 100, it is 1. Even if some electrons escape, the large number of electrons overall greatly reduces the chance of misreading the data. Since there are few errors, the latency is shortened, and the read speed increases.

SK hynix first applied Advanced CTF to its 176-layer NAND solution, resulting in a 25% improvement in the ability to determine electron counts. As Advanced CTF-based memory solutions offer lower latency, they are particularly suited for the gaming and automotive markets which require rapid data processing.

4D^2.0 Technology: Increasing Horizontal Cell Density & Stacking for Enhanced Performance & Density

When developing semiconductor memory, manufacturing costs continue to rise with each additional layer. Taking into account the additional cost of increasing the number of bits beyond the TLC level, there comes a point where it is no longer possible to reduce costs. In response, SK hynix is developing 4D^2.0 technology which increases the number of layers and horizontal density of cells to improve storage capacity relative to cost. Multi-Site Cell (MSC) is a 4D^2.0 technology that structurally improves the horizontal density, thereby significantly increasing the number of bits.

Figure 5. An overview of Multi-Site Cell (MSC)

Multi-Site Cell (MSC)

There are two primary methods for horizontally expanding cell density. The first is multi-level cell (MLC) technology, which subdivides electron counts to accommodate more data (bits) in a single cell. This is the case with NAND flash types ranging from SLC to QLC. The second is MSC technology, which structurally increases the sites where electrons are stored in a cell, enabling it to hold more data (bits).

MLC technology has been commercialized in 4-bit QLC products, but it is challenging to maintain performance and reliability in 5-bit PLC and beyond. This is due to the previously mentioned limitations in determining electron counts.

For example, if you build a 6-bit hexa-level cell (HLC) with MLC, you need to store data in 64 different states ranging from 000000 to 111111. This is prone to errors and time-consuming because there are not enough electrons to distinguish each state. Compared to the 4-bit QLC, the ability to determine the number of electrons is four times poorer.

On the other hand, when developing an HLC with MSC, eight states from 000 to 111 are created in two spaces and multiplied to realize 64 states to store data. Compared to the 4-bit QLC, the ability to distinguish electron counts doubles. In other words, it has the capacity of an HLC but the speed of a TLC. SK hynix has confirmed a 20-fold improvement⁷ in read and write speeds when utilizing MSC. Due to MSC’s high capacity, rapid speed, and reliability, SK hynix’s NAND flash is the leading solution for future multimodal AI⁸.

⁷Comparison between a 5-bit regular cell and a 2.5-bit × 2.5-bit MSC
⁸Multimodal AI: AI that can simultaneously process text, speech, images, etc.

Solving Industry Problems With An Eye on the Future

In this final Tech Pathfinder episode, SK hynix’s 4D NAND technologies were shown to solve the industry issues of today and tomorrow. The company’s 4D^1.0 technologies improve the cost-effectiveness and performance of its NAND flash, while its 4D^2.0 technologies will overcome stacking limitations set to arise in the future.

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The post [Tech Pathfinder] How SK hynix’s Advanced 4D NAND Technologies Are Overcoming Stacking Limitations first appeared on SK hynix Newsroom.

Figure 1. SK hynix’s booth at FMS 2023 featured some of the company’s latest products and technologies

As the world’s largest memory and storage trade show, the annual Flash Memory Summit (FMS) is renowned for exhibiting revolutionary high-speed memory and SSD products. At FMS 2023 held August 8^th-10^th at the Santa Clara Convention Center in California, SK hynix continued this legacy of innovation by showcasing groundbreaking memory solutions under the slogan “United Through Technology”. During the event, executives from SK hynix gave a keynote speech to share the companies’ developments in the memory sector.

Leading 4D NAND Solutions Key to the Multimodal AI Era

Figure 2. SK hynix’s EVP and Head of NAND development Jungdal Choi and EVP and Head of Solution Development Hyun Ahn during their keynote speech

On August 8^th, SK hynix’s EVP and Head of NAND development Jungdal Choi along with EVP and Head of Solution Development Hyun Ahn gave a keynote speech titled “Industry-Leading 4D NAND Technology and Solutions Enabling the Multimodal AI¹ Era”.

¹Multimodal AI: Combines various data types (image, text, speech, numerical data, etc.) with multiple intelligence processing algorithms to achieve higher performance levels.

Choi revealed that the company is currently developing the world’s first 321-layer NAND product, the fifth generation of 4D NAND. Choi said that the new product, which is the first in the industry to exceed 300 layers, is set to help the company solidify its technological leadership in NAND. Meanwhile, Ahn introduced the company’s ultra-high performance UFS 4.0 and PCIe 5^th generation (Gen5) SSD products for use in data centers and PCs. The continuous development of SSD products is essential as they are set to become an essential storage solution for application with multimodal AI, which analyzes and calculates vast amounts of data on various platforms. The pair concluded by stating that SK hynix is committed to supporting multimodal AI and other advanced technologies by developing next-generation PCIe Gen6 SSDs and UFS 5.0 memory-based products.

Breaking Barriers: Unveiling Pioneering 4D NAND & SSD Solutions

Figure 3. SK hynix’s product line-up, including its 4D NAND solutions, were on display

SK hynix is continually looking to advance its 4D NAND technology in terms of performance and reliability. The company’s development of the industry’s first 96-layer 4D NAND based on charge trap flash² (CTF) in 2018 became a launchpad for further innovations, leading to the development of its 238-layer 4D NAND four years later in another industry first. Continuing this line of industry firsts, SK hynix showcased samples of its 321-layer 1 Tb 4D NAND, which offers a 59% improvement in productivity compared with the previous generation 238-layer, 512 Gb NAND chips. This improvement was realized by technological developments that enabled the stacking of more cells and a larger storage capacity on a single chip, thereby increasing the total capacity of a single wafer.

The groundbreaking 321-layer NAND product was later presented at SK hynix’s booth along with other NAND solutions, including the company’s PCle³ Gen5 enterprise SSD (eSSD) called PS1030 which utilizes V7 NAND. The PS1030, which was applied to a supermicro server for the demonstration, delivers the fastest sequential read speed in the industry—14,800 MB/s. It also offers a random read performance of 3,300 kIOPS⁴, highlighting its specifications as a high-performance eSSD.

²Charge trap flash (CTF): Unlike floating gate, which stores electric charges in conductors, CTF stores electric charges in insulators, which eliminates interference between cells, improving read and write performance while reducing cell area per unit compared to floating gate technology.

³Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCle): A serial-structured, high-speed input/output interface used on the motherboard of digital devices.

⁴Thousand Input/Output Operations Per Second (kIOPS): A measure of how many read and write operations a storage device can perform in a second.

Visitors to the SK hynix booth could also see another one of the company’s SSDs, the PCIe Gen4 PC811.  Applied to a PC for the demonstration, the PC811 is SK hynix’s first V8 NAND-based mainstream client SSD (cSSD). Other SSDs on show included its high-speed Platinum P41, ultra-low power Gold P31, and the company’s first portable SSD for consumers, SK hynix Beetle X31.

Unleashing the Power of HPC With KV-CSD

Figure 4. SK hynix’s Woosuk Chung, team leader for the Computational Storage department, held a session on KV-CSD, which was also displayed at the company’s booth

SK hynix also held the second demonstrations of its pioneering Key Value Store Computational Storage Device (KV-CSD) following on from its debut at last year’s FMS. Co-developed with U.S.-based Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), the KV-CSD is a next-generation intelligent storage product which improves write and read capabilities for high performance computing (HPC).

The impact of the KV-CSD was discussed in a session on August 10^th by SK hynix’s Woosuk Chung, team leader for the Computational Storage department. Titled “Architecture of a Query Accelerating KV-CSD in a HPC System”, the talk revealed how the new KV-CSD overcomes the limitations of software key-value stores.

High-Performance Mobile and Automotive Solutions

Figure 5. SK hynix’s mobile and automotive solutions

SK hynix also exhibited its technologies for the mobile and automotive sectors at FMS 2023. The company’s line-up of V7 512 Gb universal flash storage⁵ (UFS) products was on display, including those based on UFS 2.2, UFS 3.1, and UFS 4.0—the latest specification which offers enhanced bandwidth speed and efficiency. Additionally, the company’s universal multichip package⁶ (uMCP), which combines its mobile DRAM LPDDR and UFS, was also presented at the booth.

Moving to solutions for the automotive market, SK hynix’s LPDDR5X mobile DRAM and HBM2E DRAM were among the products displayed as they are essential components of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS)⁷. The HBM2E highlights SK hynix’s strength in the automotive sector as it is the only company to develop HBM products specifically for the industry. As well as ADAS, SK hynix’s automotive solutions support other functions. For example, its eMMC 5.1 embedded multimedia card is utilized for in-car connectivity, while its UFS 3.1-based and SSD products are applied for in-vehicle infotainment and storage, respectively.

⁵Universal Flash Storage (UFS): A breakthrough type of flash memory that can simultaneously read and write data. Due to its low-power consumption, high-performance and reliability, UFS is widely applied in mobile devices.

⁶Universal multichip package (uMCP): A multi-chip package that combines DRAM and NAND flash into one product.

⁷Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS): A system that utilizes various technologies to help drivers in routine navigation and parking without fully automating the process.

Never Standing Still

SK hynix always has one eye on the future, and this was exemplified during its successful time at FMS 2023. Despite already offering a range of industry-leading solutions, the company will not rest on its laurels as it aims to further improve it line-up of NAND and other high-performance memories in the future.

The post FMS 2023: SK hynix Showcases World’s First 321-Layer NAND Samples & Storage Solutions first appeared on SK hynix Newsroom.

• SK hynix unveils development progress of world’s first NAND with more than 300 layers at FMS 2023
• Next-generation NAND solutions such as PCIe 5th Gen, UFS 4.0 also unveiled
• “Innovation to continue for development of high-performance NAND for AI era”

Seoul, August 9, 2023

SK hynix Inc. (or “the company”, www.skhynix.com) showcased today the sample of the 321-layer 4D NAND, making public the progress on its development of the industry’s first NAND with more than 300 layers.

The company gave a presentation on the progress on the development of its 321-layer 1Tb TLC¹ 4D NAND Flash and displayed the samples at the Flash Memory Summit (FMS) 2023² taking place Aug. 8-10 in Santa Clara.

¹Triple Level Cell (TLC): NAND Flash products are categorized into single, multi, triple, quadruple and penta level cells depending on the number of information (in bit unit) contained in a single cell. That a cell contains more information means more data can be stored within the same extent of area.

²Flash Memory Summit (FMS): the biggest annual conference for NAND Flash industry

SK hynix is the first in the industry to unveil the progress on the development of a NAND with more than 300 layers in detail. The company plans to raise the level of completion of the 321-layer product and start mass production from the first half of 2025.

The company said its technological competitiveness accumulated from the success of the world’s highest 238-layer NAND, already in mass production, paved the way for a smooth progress for the development of the 321-layer product. “With another breakthrough to address stacking limitations, SK hynix will open the era of NAND with more than 300 layers and lead the market.”

The 321-layer 1Tb TLC NAND comes with a 59% improvement in productivity, compared with the earlier generation of 238-layer 512Gb, thanks to the technology development that enabled stacking of more cells and larger storage capacity on a single chip, meaning the total capacity that can be produced on a single wafer increased.

Since the introduction of ChatGPT that accelerated the growth of the generative AI market, demand for high-performance and high-capacity memory products that can process more data at a faster pace is growing rapidly.

Accordingly, at the FMS, SK hynix also introduced next-generation NAND solutions optimized for such AI demand, including the enterprise SSD adopting the PCIe Gen5 interface and UFS 4.0.

The company expects these products to achieve industry-leading performance to fully meet the needs of the customers with a focus on high performance.

SK hynix also announced that it has started development of the next-generation PCIe Gen6 and UFS 5.0 with the improved technology for solution development that it acquired through these products and expressed its commitment to leading the industry trend.

Jungdal Choi, Head of NAND Development, said during a keynote speech that the company expects the ongoing development of the 321-layer product, the fifth generation of the 4D NAND, to help the company solidify its technological leadership in the NAND space. “With timely introduction of the high-performance and high-capacity NAND, we will strive to meet the requirements of the AI era and continue to lead innovation.”

About SK hynix Inc.

SK hynix Inc., headquartered in Korea, is the world’s top tier semiconductor supplier offering Dynamic Random Access Memory chips (“DRAM”), flash memory chips (“NAND flash”) and CMOS Image Sensors (“CIS”) for a wide range of distinguished customers globally. The Company’s shares are traded on the Korea Exchange, and the Global Depository shares are listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. Further information about SK hynix is available at www.skhynix.com, news.skhynix.com.

Media Contact

SK hynix Inc.
Global Public Relations

Technical Leader
Kanga Kong
E-Mail: global_newsroom@skhynix.com

Technical Leader
Joori Roh
E-Mail: global_newsroom@skhynix.com

The post SK hynix Showcases Samples of World’s First 321-Layer NAND first appeared on SK hynix Newsroom.

• Product compatibility test with global smartphone manufacturer underway
• Secures top-notch competitiveness in price, quality for NAND product
• Expects NAND technology competitiveness to drive earnings rebound in 2H

Seoul, June 8, 2023

SK hynix Inc. (or “the company”, www.skhynix.com) announced today that it has started mass production of its 238-layer 4D NAND Flash memory, following the development in August 2022, and that product compatibility test with a global smartphone manufacturer is underway.

“SK hynix has developed solution products for smartphones and client SSDs which are used as PC storage devices, adopting the 238-layer NAND technology, and has moved into mass production in May,” the company said. “Given that the company secured world-class competitiveness in price, performance and quality for both 238-layer NAND and the previous generation 176-layer NAND, we expect these products to drive earnings improvement in the second half of the year.”

The 238-layer product – the smallest NAND in size – has a 34% higher manufacturing efficiency compared to the previous generation of 176-layer, resulting in a significant improvement in cost competitiveness.

Besides, with a data-transfer speed of 2.4Gb per second, a 50% increase from the previous generation, and approximately 20% increase in read and write speed, the company is confident that it will be able to deliver an improved performance to the smartphone and PC customers using this technology.

Once the product compatibility test with the global smartphone manufacturer is completed, SK hynix will begin supplying the 238-layer NAND product for smartphones, and expand the technology across its product portfolio such as PCIe 5.0^* SSDs and high-capacity server SSDs going forward.

^*PCIe 5.0: PCIe(Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) is a serial-structured high-speed input/output interface used in the main boards of digital devices, with PCIe 5.0 doubling the data rate to 32GT/s(Gigatransfer per second) from PCIe 4.0

“We will continue to overcome NAND technology limitations and increase our competitiveness so that we can achieve a bigger turnaround than anyone else during the upcoming market rebound,” said Jumsoo Kim, Head of S238 NAND at SK hynix.

About SK hynix Inc.

SK hynix Inc., headquartered in Korea, is the world’s top tier semiconductor supplier offering Dynamic Random Access Memory chips (“DRAM”), flash memory chips (“NAND flash”) and CMOS Image Sensors (“CIS”) for a wide range of distinguished customers globally. The Company’s shares are traded on the Korea Exchange, and the Global Depository shares are listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. Further information about SK hynix is available at www.skhynix.com, news.skhynix.com.

Media Contact

SK hynix Inc.
Global Public Relations

Technical Leader
Joori Roh
E-Mail: global_newsroom@skhynix.com

Technical Leader
Kanga Kong
E-Mail: global_newsroom@skhynix.com

The post SK hynix Begins Mass Production of Industry’s Highest 238-Layer 4D NAND first appeared on SK hynix Newsroom.

SK hynix joined the August 2-4 event at the Santa Clara Convention Center in California, the first in-person FMS since 2019. In the event’s keynote and other sessions, company executives and project leaders discussed new products and the challenges that went into their development. Among the keynote speakers were SK hynix Executive Vice President and Head of NAND Development Jungdal Choi and Sanjay S. Talreja, senior vice president and general manager at US subsidiary Solidigm.

Image 1. SK hynix’s booth at FMS 2022, where attendees could experience the company’s latest products

In their keynote titled “Unlocking the Potential of Data – the New Paradigm of Storage”, the executives explained how innovative NAND technology is addressing the ever-growing need for “DataCosm”, the unique confluence of data, storage, and computing.

Transferring More Data, Faster: The World’s Most Advanced NAND

During the August 2 presentation, Choi unveiled the world’s first 238-layer 512Gb Triple-Level Cell (TLC) 4D NAND with plans to start mass production in the first half of 2023. What makes this latest product stand out is that it is simultaneously the most layered and smallest in area, in turn dramatically improving productivity, data transfer speed, and power efficiency.

Talreja also unveiled the world’s first working Penta-Level Cell (PLC) SSD with the ability to store five bits of data per memory cell, 25% more data in the same footprint compared to quad-level cell (QLC) SSDs. The company is now well-placed to grow in areas including modern workloads such as AI, machine learning and big data analytics; building out of 5G infrastructure and displacing hard disk drives, which still store more than 85% of all data center data.

Image 2. Jungdal Choi and Sanjay S. Talreja share the stage as they deliver their keynote speech

Collaboration for Memory for CXL & Next-Generation Storage

SK hynix’s Head of DRAM Product Planning Uksong Kang and Woosuk Chung, director of Storage SA, also introduced their achievements during technical seminars. During the MemVerge session on August 2, Kang announced development of the company’s first DDR5 DRAM-based Compute Express Link (CXL) samples. The new product redefines memory-as-a-service thanks to CXL memory’s bandwidth/capacity expansion, media differentiation, controller differentiation, and pooling. Kang also stressed the importance of industry collaboration to build CXL memory ecosystem.

Image 3. CXL sample in hand, Uksong Kang introduces the product during his sponsored session

Meanwhile, during his Thursday (August 4) session, Chung demonstrated a next-generation intelligent storage product and the world’s first ordered Key Value Store Computational Storage Device (KV-CSD) that improves write and read capabilities for high performance computing. Developed in partnership with Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), the now two-year partnership played an important role in the development of the product, with performance testing performed on LANL’s supercomputer.

Santosh Kumar, director of NAND technical marketing at SK hynix, joined moderator Paul Saffo from Stanford University and executives from other NAND companies in a roundtable discussion “NAND Flash and its Impact on the World” on August 4. The speakers discussed the impact NAND Flash has had on the world over the past 35 years, future applications of NAND Flash and the challenges that memory technologies continue to face.

Image 4. Santosh Kumar (second from the left) participates in the “NAND Flash and its Impact on the World” roundtable discussion

After a successful FMS 2022, SK hynix’s Choi hopes to leverage the momentum to develop more products that push the technology barrier. “We will continue innovations to find breakthroughs in technological challenges,” he said.

The post SK hynix Unlocks NAND Memory Potential with Innovative Products at FMS 2022 first appeared on SK hynix Newsroom.

• World’s first 238-layer 512Gb TLC 4D NAND developed in July; expected to begin mass production in the first half of 2023
• Providing highest, smallest NAND product while remarkably improving productivity, data transfer speed and power efficiency
• “Will continue innovations to find breakthroughs in technological challenges”

SK hynix Inc. (or “the company”, www.skhynix.com) announced today that it has developed the industry’s highest 238-layer NAND Flash product.

The company has recently shipped samples of the 238-layer 512Gb triple level cell (TLC)¹ 4D NAND product to customers with a plan to start mass production in the first half of 2023. “The latest achievement follows development of the 176-layer NAND product in December 2020,” the company stated. “It is notable that the latest 238-layer product is most layered and smallest in area at the same time.”

The company unveiled development of the latest product at the Flash Memory Summit 2022² in Santa Clara. “SK hynix secured global top-tier competitiveness in perspective of cost, performance and quality by introducing the 238-layer product based on its 4D NAND technologies,” said Jungdal Choi, Head of NAND Development at SK hynix in his keynote speech during the event. “We will continue innovations to find breakthroughs in technological challenges.”

Since development of the 96-layer NAND product in 2018, SK hynix has introduced a series of 4D products that outperform existing 3D products. The company has applied charge trap flash³ and peri under cell⁴ technologies to make chips with 4D structures. 4D products have a smaller cell area per unit compared with 3D, leading to higher production efficiency.

The product, while achieving highest layers of 238, is the smallest NAND in size, meaning its overall productivity has increased by 34% compared with the 176-layer NAND, as more chips with higher density per unit area can be produced from each wafer.

The data-transfer speed of the 238-layer product is 2.4Gb per second, a 50% increase from the previous generation. The volume of the energy consumed for data reading has decreased by 21%, an achievement that also meets the company’s ESG commitment.

The 238-layer products will be first adopted for client SSDs which are used as PC storage devices, before being provided for smartphones and high-capacity SSDs for servers later. The company will also introduce 238-layer products in 1 Terabit (Tb) next year, with density doubled compared to the current 512Gb product.

¹Triple Level Cell (TLC): NAND Flash products are categorized into Single Level Cell, Multi Level Cell, Triple Level Cell, Quadruple Level Cell and Penta Level Cell depending on the number of information (unit: bit) contained in a single cell. That a cell contains more information means more data can be stored within the same extent of area.

²Flash Memory Summit (FMS): The world’s biggest conference for NAND Flash industry taking place in Santa Clara every year. During its keynote speech at the event SK hynix made a joint announcement with Solidigm.

³Charge Trap Flash (CTF): Unlike floating gate, which stores electric charges in conductors, CTF stores electric charges in insulators, which eliminates interference between cells, improving read and write performance while reducing cell area per unit compared to floating gate technology.

⁴ Peri. Under Cell (PUC): A technology that maximizes production efficiency by placing peripheral circuits under the cell array.

About SK hynix Inc.

SK hynix Inc., headquartered in Korea, is the world’s top tier semiconductor supplier offering Dynamic Random Access Memory chips (“DRAM”), flash memory chips (“NAND flash”) and CMOS Image Sensors (“CIS”) for a wide range of distinguished customers globally. The Company’s shares are traded on the Korea Exchange, and the Global Depository shares are listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. Further information about SK hynix is available at www.skhynix.com, news.skhynix.com.

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The post SK hynix Develops World’s Highest 238-Layer 4D NAND Flash first appeared on SK hynix Newsroom.

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SAN JOSE, Calif., June 4 /PRNewswire/

hynix Semiconductor Inc.’s (formerly Hyundai Electronics Industries) Flash Memory Business Unit today announced the introduction of two new 32 megabit (Mb), low-voltage Flash devices-the HY29DS322/323 and HY29LV320.

Targeted for today’s most advanced applications, the new devices bolster the company’s growing low-voltage Flash product portfolio, building on hynix’s current lineup of 2 to 8 Mb 5-volt (V) and 16 Mb 3V and 2V Flash memories. In particular, the new HY29DS322/323 device places hynix in a strong competitive position to provide Flash technology that supports the latest cellular phone features such as web browsing and voice recognition. Additionally, hynix’s HY29LV320 device, with a 70 nanosecond (ns) access time, is the fastest 32 Mb Flash memory device available.

Commenting on the new products and hynix’s commitment to becoming a leading supplier of high-performance Flash memories for a broad range of applications, Sam Young, vice president of marketing for hynix’s Flash Memory Business Unit, said, “As the natural extension of our successful 16 Mb low- and super-low voltage Flash products, these devices are targeted at applications requiring cost-effective 32 Mb 3V and 2V solutions. They are particularly well suited for the leading-edge requirements of manufacturers of networking products, consumer electronic equipment and cellular handsets. hynix is well positioned to support these large users of Flash from both product technology and volume manufacturing perspectives.” Added Young, “Like our other Flash products, these new devices capitalize on hynix’s proven DRAM technology and will be fabricated in our highly efficient and well-proven DRAM fabrication facilities. Our vast manufacturing capacity gives us a significant advantage over our competitors by allowing us to cost-effectively accommodate high-volume customer orders.”

Key Features: Fabricated using 0.25-micron CMOS lithography, each device provides 32 megabits of non-volatile storage and employs a hynix-developed, triple-well channel erase Flash technology. Both products also feature an accelerated programming mode that reduces programming time by up to 40%, and a secured sector that can be used to provide effective anti-cloning protection. Designed primarily for cellular phone applications, the super-low voltage HY29DS322/323 device reads, programs and erases over an operating voltage range of 1.8 to 2.2V and features a dual-bank, simultaneous read/write architecture. It is available in 100, 110 and 120 ns access time versions and can be configured for 4 Mb x 8 or 2 Mb x 16 operation. The HY29LV320 is configured as 2 Mb x 16, but is pin compatible with similar 32 Mb (x8/x16) products. The device is compatible with and serves as a density upgrade for the 16 Mb HY29LV160 and equivalents. The HY29LV320 operates from 2.7 to 3.6V and is available in 70, 80, 90, and 120 ns access time versions.

About Dual-Bank, Simultaneous Read/Write Operations: Dividing the Flash chip into two banks of memory sectors that can perform independent operations, dual-bank design permits simultaneous read and write operations. This allows the host system to program or erase in one bank while simultaneously reading from any sector in the other bank-with zero latency between read and write operations. For example, by storing operating code in one bank and data in the other, there is no need to interrupt the reading of the operating code to perform data programming or erase operations. This reduces the complexity of the operating code and eliminating the additional memory often required in older designs.

About Accelerated Programming: Allowing the end-user to program more units per hour, the accelerated programming feature reduces programming time, paring down the time to program the device by about 40 percent. This results in significant production cost savings for manufacturers. About Secured Sector: The Secured Sector (Sec2) is an additional Flash sector capable of being permanently locked at the factory or by customers. A corresponding secured indicator bit is permanently set to a “1” if the part is factory locked and permanently set to a “0” if it is customer locked. In this way, customer lockable parts can never be used to replace a factory locked part. This offers broad protection by enabling applications such as cellular phones and set-top boxes to store a unique serial number as an effective anti-cloning measure.

hynix’s Triple-Well Channel Erase Technology: This technology allows a reduction of the memory cell size of about 10 to 20 percent compared to competing Flash devices at the same lithography. This is realized primarily by a reduction in the channel length of about 20 percent. Additionally, the technology requires fewer processing steps and makes it easier to achieve the cell’s endurance and data retention specifications. A number of device-design related benefits also result.

Packaging: The HY29DS322/323 and HY29LV320 are available in 48-pin TSOP and 48-ball, 7.25 x 12.0 mm, Fine Ball Grid Array (FBGA) packages. Both devices are fully compliant with JEDEC standards, and are pin-out and software compatible with the single power supply Flash device requirements. In addition, the devices are compliant with the Common Flash Memory Interface (CFI) specification, in which Flash device parameters are stored directly on the device. This allows the software driver to identify and use a variety of different current and future Flash products.

Price and Availability: The HY29DS322/323 is currently being sampled, with full production starting in July of this year. Pricing for commercial temperature, TSOP packaged versions of these devices in 10 Ku quantities will be $11.90 for the 110 ns access time version. Samples of the HY29LV320 are also available now, with volume production scheduled for the third quarter. Pricing for the 90 ns, commercial temperature, TSOP packaged version of this device in 10 Ku quantities will be $10.75. Both devices are also available in industrial (-40 to +85 degrees C) grade versions.

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About hynix Semiconductor Inc.

hynix Semiconductor Inc. (HSI) of Ichon, Korea, is an industry leader in the development, sales, marketing and distribution of high-quality semiconductors, including DRAM, SRAM, Flash memory and system IC devices. hynix Semiconductor is the world’s largest DRAM supplier with eleven semiconductor-manufacturing facilities worldwide, and production capacity of over 300,000 wafer starts per month. In addition, hynix is expanding its system IC business unit with leading technology and added deep-submicron foundry services to strategically broaden its overall semiconductor presence and achieve its goal of leading the global semiconductor market. Based in Korea, hynix maintains development, manufacturing, sales and marketing facilities strategically located worldwide. hynix Semiconductor America Inc. (HSA) is a U.S. subsidiary of hynix Semiconductor Inc. HSA and HSI’s Flash Memory Business Unit are headquartered at 3101 North First Street, San Jose, Calif., 95134. More information on hynix Semiconductor America Inc. and its products is available from the company’s web site at http://www.us.hynix.com.

The post hynix Expands Low- and Super-Low Voltage Flash Memory Portfolio with New 32 Megabit Offerings New Flash Devices first appeared on SK hynix Newsroom.

Hyundai’s Flash Memory Business Unit today announced the unveiling of its new single power supply, low- and super-low voltage Flash memories targeted at cellular phone and other consumer and industrial electronics applications such as set-top boxes, PDAs, and networking/telecom equipment. Each of the new devices provides 16 megabits of non-volatile storage organized as 2M x 8 or 1M x 16. These devices are fabricated using 0.35¥ì CMOS lithography, and are the first to employ a new, Hyundai-developed, triple-well channel erase technology. The super-low voltage HY29DS162/163 offering is available in 100 and 120 nanosecond (ns) access time versions. These devices read, program, and erase over a range of 1.8 to 2.2 volts and feature a dual bank, simultaneous read/write architecture. The HY29DL162/163 offering is also a dual bank, simultaneous read/write Flash memory, but operates from 2.7 to 3.6 volts. It is available at access times of 70, 90 and 120 ns. The HY29LV160 is a conventional, high performance, single-bank Flash memory that operates from 2.7 to 3.6 volts and is available in 70, 80, 90, and 120 ns access time versions. Steven Grossman, senior vice president and general manager for Hyundai’s Flash Memory Business Unit, said, “These products represent Hyundai’s entry into the low- and super-low voltage Flash arena for power-conscious applications such as cellular phones. Hyundai is particularly well positioned to support these large users of Flash from both product technology and volume manufacturing perspectives.” Grossman continues, “Like our 5-volt products, these new devices capitalize on Hyundai’s proven DRAM technology and are being fabricated in Hyundai’s highly efficient and well-proven DRAM fabrication facilities to assure customers of cost-effective high-volume product availability.” Key Features Key features of the HY29DS162/163 and HY29DL162/163 devices include dual bank, simultaneous read/write operations, a Secured Sector, and accelerated programming. The dual bank design divides the Flash chip into two banks of memory sectors that can perform independent operations. This permits simultaneous read/write operations, which allows the host system to program or erase in one bank, while simultaneously reading from any sector in the other bank with zero latency between read and write operations. By storing operating code in one bank and data in the other, there is no need to interrupt the reading of the operating code to perform data programming or erase operations. This reduces the complexity of the operating code and eliminates an additional memory often required in older designs. The Secured Sector is an additional 64 KByte sector capable of being permanently locked at the factory or by customers. A corresponding secured indicator bit is permanently set to a ‘1’ if the part is factory locked and permanently set to a ‘0’ if customer locked. This way, customer lockable parts can never be used to replace a factory locked part. Products such as cellular phones and set-top boxes can store a unique serial number in this sector as an effective anti-cloning measure. A third feature is accelerated programming, which reduces programming time from 11 microseconds (¥ìs) per word to 7 ¥ìs per word, thus paring down the time to program the device by about 40 percent. This results in significant production cost savings. The HY29LV160 and HY29DL162/163 are second sources to similar devices currently on the market from manufacturers such as AMD and Fujitsu. Like the HY29DS162/163, they are fully compliant with JEDEC standards, pinout and software compatible with the single power supply Flash device requirements, and have superior inadvertent write protection. The three devices are also compliant with the Common Flash Memory Interface (CFI) specification, in which Flash device parameters are stored directly on the device. This allows the software driver to identify and use a variety of different current and future Flash products. Packaging The HY29DS162/163, HY29DL162/163 and HY29LV160 components are all available in 48-pin TSOP and 48-ball FBGA packages. Price and Availability The HY29DS162/163 and HY29LV160 parts will be available in sample and initial production quantities starting in May of this year. Pricing for TSOP packaged versions of these devices in 10 Ku quantities will be $16.95 for the HY29DS162/163 (120 ns) and $14.95 for the HY29LV160 (90 ns). Sample and initial production quantities of the HY29DL162/163 parts will be available in July. Pricing for the 90 ns, TSOP packaged version of this device in 10 Ku quantities will be $16.95. Volume production quantities of all devices are scheduled for the third quarter. Hyundai’s New Triple-Well Channel Erase Technology This new technology allows a reduction of the memory cell size of about 10 to 20 percent compared to competing Flash devices at the same lithography. This is realized primarily by a reduction in the channel length of about 20 percent. Soon to be released Flash products at 0.25 micron process geometry will have a cell size of 0.69 square microns. Additionally, the technology requires fewer processing steps and makes it easier to achieve the cell’s endurance and data retention specifications. A number of device-design related benefits also result. About Hyundai MicroElectronics Hyundai MicroElectronics is the semiconductor group of Hyundai Electronics Industries Co., Ltd. (HEI) of Ichon, Korea. Hyundai MicroElectronics is an industry leader in the development, sales, marketing, and distribution of high-quality microelectronics (including DRAM, SRAM, Flash memory, and System IC devices). According to International Data Corporation (IDC) of Framingham, MA, the Hyundai MicroElectronics Group is the world’s largest DRAM supplier. In addition Hyundai is expanding its System IC business unit with leading technology and added deep-submicron foundry services to strategically broaden its overall semiconductor presence and achieve its goal of leading the global semiconductor market. Based in Korea, Hyundai MicroElectronics maintains development, manufacturing, sales, and marketing facilities strategically worldwide. Hyundai Electronics America (HEA) is a U.S. subsidiary of Hyundai Electronics Industries Co., Ltd. HEA is headquartered at 3101 North First Street, San Jose, CA 95134. More information on Hyundai Electronics America and its products is available from the company’s web site at http://www.hea.com.

The post Hyundai MicroElectronics Enters Low and Super Low Voltage Flash Memory Market first appeared on SK hynix Newsroom.

Hyundai Electronics Industries Co., Ltd. (HEI) today previewed the first product family developed collaboratively by the Flash Memory Division in San Jose, California, and its Memory Research and Development Division in Ichon, Korea.

These products operate with a single 5-volt power supply and are implemented in 0.35¥ì CMOS technology, with densities of 2, 4 and 8 Mbits and access times as fast as 45ns. They are fully compliant with, and offer the ease-of-use features of, the JEDEC standard for single power-supply Flash memories. The products are also compatible with similar products available from other Flash memory manufacturers.

The first member of Hyundai’s 0.35¥ì Flash memory family is the HY29F080, an 8 Megabit device organized as 1,048,576 (1M) bytes of 8 bits each. The HY29F080 is fully compatible with industry-standard uniform sector architecture Flash memories and operates with a single 5-volt power supply for read, program, and erase operations.

The device will be offered in industry-standard 40-pin TSOP and reverse TSOP and 44-pin PSOP packages and, initially, with access times as low as 70ns. Samples of this device will be available in November, with volume production starting in January 1999. A 55ns access time version is planned for later availability. Additional products in this family will be introduced in the next several months. Higher density 3-volt and 2-volt designs utilizing smaller geometries and featuring state-of-the-art capabilities such as concurrent read/write are currently in progress, and will broaden Hyundai’s product portfolio by the end of the millennium. Hyundai’s Flash memory technology is based on, and fully compatible with, its DRAM technology, which enables it to use its vast DRAM wafer fabrication and assembly operations to manufacture its Flash products. This permits quick shifts in product mix to smooth out the supply and demand imbalances historically seen in the Flash market, and allows Flash manufacturing to take full advantage of the experience and expertise gained in the high-volume manufacturing of DRAMs.

This furthers Hyundai’s goal of making Flash memory a commodity product, bringing Flash products to customers at the right time and at the right price. The availability of Flash memory products from Hyundai strengthens its market leadership position in memories and provides its customers with a single world-class source for their DRAM, SRAM and Flash memory requirements.

Hyundai currently ranks in the top three suppliers of DRAM and SRAM products, delivering these products in volume while meeting the stringent quality requirements of many of the world’s leading manufacturers of products such as personal computers, networking equipment and telecommunications devices.

About Flash Memory According to a recent report from Dataquest Incorporated of San Jose, California, the 1997 Flash memory market was the third-largest memory market and the largest non-volatile memory segment with shipments of about $2.7B. Dataquest projects the market to grow to in excess of $10B in 2002.

Flash memory technology provides a cost-effective combination of non-volatility, the ability to retain data even in the absence of power, and in-system programming capability. This combination of features has made Flash memory an enabling technology in many applications and one of the fastest growing semiconductor product categories in the 1990’s. Flash memory products are used in applications such as personal computers, workstations, servers, PC peripherals including modems and printers, internetworking equipment, telecommunications switches, cable modems, TV set-top boxes, Internet appliances, industrial control equipment, scientific and medical instruments and memory cards.

The post HEI Develops High Speed 8M Flash Memory first appeared on SK hynix Newsroom.