14 DAY TRIAL // Nowadays NAND based memory chips are found in almost every electronic device from music players to data storage solutions and computers, so the entire NAND memory manufacturing industry is experiencing another booming expansion after a few months of shipments decline and uncertainty. The currently adopted NAND fabrication process calls for a single memory chip to be only 1.4mm thick so manufacturing companies are investing a lot into the research of new technologies that can accommodate more and more storage capacity on such a small chip.
Hynix Semiconductor, currently the third largest NAND based flash memory chip producer in the whole world, announced the successful development of a new fabrication technology which allows the construction of a multi-chip package (MCP for short) with no less than 24 stacked flash based memory chips and that without going over the 1.4mm limit of the industry standard. According to the news site koreatimes Hynix announced that this new fabrication process can increase the available memory density as it allows the production of flash based storage devices with capacities up to 384Gb which can be then integrated into an electronic device, offering enough space to hold up to 25 DVD movies or some 12,000 music files.
The multi-chip package is produced as a combination of NAND flash memory and SRAM which are combined into a single data storing chip composed of many thin layers of flash memory cells. "With the development and diversification of mobile telecommunications, demand for large-capacity memory is increasing rapidly," an official from the supplier said, adding the company aims to develop a MCP with 28 stacked NAND chips in the coming years, but there is no information available about the launching date of the first end product to feature this technology.
According to most market analysts, the MCP market segment is one of the most volatile of the entire computer industry as it requires a great number of fabrication processes and pretty complicated technologies like wafer thinning, redistribution layer, chip sawing and wire bonding. While Hynix is in the top three NAND flash based storage manufacturers, it entered the MCP business not very long ago in an attempt to increase its base business, producing the random access memories. The good news for all NAND producers and vendors is that the entire market is expected to sustain a high rate of growth of around 120 percent every year, as the prices are almost flat and the demand from electronics incorporating flash based data storage solutions is rising.