SK hynix announced on the 25th that it has completed the development of the 321-layer 2Tb (terabit) QLC NAND flash product and has entered mass production.
NAND flash is a type of non-volatile memory semiconductor that retains data even when the power is off. The specifications are classified as SLC (Single Level Cell, 1 bit), MLC (Multi Level Cell, 2 bits), TLC (Triple Level Cell, 3 bits), QLC (Quadruple Level Cell, 4 bits), and PLC (Penta Level Cell, 5 bits), depending on how many pieces of information (in bits) can be stored in one cell. QLC means that one cell can store 4 pieces of information.
Stacking is a technology that increases data capacity by stacking cells vertically and is considered a key element of NAND competitiveness.
SK hynix developed this product with a capacity increased to 2Tb, double that of existing products, to maximize cost competitiveness.
Generally, as the capacity of NAND increases, more information is stored in a single cell, leading to complicated memory management and resulting in slower data processing speeds.
To solve this problem, SK hynix increased the number of planes, groups that can operate independently within NAND, from 4 to 6 to enable more parallel operations.
As a result, this product has increased data transmission speed by 100% compared to previous QLC products, with writing performance improved by up to 56% and reading performance improved by 18%. The power efficiency for data writing has also increased by over 23%.
SK hynix plans to apply the 321-layer NAND first to PC SSDs and then expand the application area to data center and smartphone products.
Furthermore, based on packaging technology that can stack 32 NANDs at once, it will implement a storage density that is twice as high as before, aiming to aggressively target the ultra-high-capacity eSSD market for AI servers.
Jeong Woo-pyo, vice president of SK hynix (in charge of NAND development), said, "With the start of mass production of this product, we have significantly strengthened our high-capacity product portfolio and secured price competitiveness."