The V-NAND has a density of 128 Gb per chip thanks to CTF technology

Aug 6, 2013 18:06 GMT  ·  By

We saw Intel make processors with 3D transistors, and now we learn that Samsung is using a sort of 3D stacking technology as well, only for NAND Flash storage devices, not computing units.

The technology Samsung has introduced is called 3D V-NAND and is based on the 3D Charge Trap Flash (CTF) technology.

Combined with the vertical interconnect process technology, the technique can link a 3D call array together and allow planar NAND Flash to scale twice as well as 20nm technology. Normally, moving to 10nm wouldn't have brought such an improvement.

In layman terms, the new Samsung V-NAND allows for 128 Gb density in a single chip.

Planar cell layers are stacked vertically by temporarily placing an electric charge in a holding chamber of the non-conductive layer of flash (composed of silicon nitride, SiN).

This is an alternative to using a floating gate to prevent interference between neighboring cells.

The result is a three-dimensional CTF layer with far better reliability and speed compared to other NAND memory.

The reliability can go up by a factor of 2 to 10, and the write performance improves by a factor of two over conventional 10 nm-class floating gate NAND flash memory.

"The new 3D V-NAND flash technology is the result of our employees' years of efforts to push beyond conventional ways of thinking and pursue much more innovative approaches in overcoming limitations in the design of memory semiconductor technology," said Jeong-Hyuk Choi, senior vice president, flash product & technology, Samsung Electronics.

"Following the world's first mass production of 3D Vertical NAND, we will continue to introduce 3D V-NAND products with improved performance and higher density, which will contribute to further growth of the global memory industry."

Samsung will use the 3D Vertical NAND in solid-state drives (SSDs), embedded NAND (for industrial PCs and other such things), smartphone storage, tablets, various other consumer electronics, and even enterprise applications.