Samsung Electronics has Begun Mass Production of a 16 Gbyte NAND Flash Memory Chip

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Samsung Electronics has begun mass production of a 16 Gbyte NAND flash memory chip

1. Samsung mass producing 16Gb NAND flash on 51nm - DigiTimes.com

2. Samsung begins production of 16-Gb flash - EE Times

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Samsung mass producing 16Gb NAND flash on 51nm
Press release, April 29; Esther Lam, DIGITIMES [Monday 30 April 2007]

Samsung Electronics announced mass production of 16Gb multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash on a 51nm process, stressing that it has achieved this new migration milestone after announcing production of its 60nm 8Gb NAND flash in August of 2006.

This high-density NAND flash chips can be produced 60% more efficiently than those that made on 60nm and has accelerated the chip's read and write speeds by approximately 80% over current MLC data processing speeds, Samsung noted. According to Samsung, the read speed for a MLC 60nm-made NAND flash is 17MB/second, whereas a 51nm-made NAND flash is 30MB/second. Write speed for the former is 4.4MB/second while the later is 8MB/second.

NAND flash memory reads and writes data in units called "pages" and this 51nm 16Gb NAND can process data in a 4-kilobyte (KB) page size, doubling the data rate from the 2KB page size of 60nm NAND flash, Samsung said. By maintaining the same 4 bit error-correcting code (ECC) capability as that of 60nm NAND, customers can use existing system interfaces with only minor firmware upgrades, the company added. Samsung will also offer a suite of software and firmware-incorporated storage devices for music phones and MP3 players to support 4KB pages.

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Samsung begins production of 16-Gb flash

Antone Gonsalves (04/30/2007 2:45 PM EDT)
URL: http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=199202690

Samsung Electronics has begun mass production of a 16 Gbyte NAND flash memory chip that would be used in digital music players, music phones, and digital cameras.

Samsung, which is making the chips using a 51-nanometer manufacturing process, said it is the first to mass-produce what it claims is the "highest capacity memory chip now available."

"In rolling out the densest NAND flash in the world, we are throwing open the gates to a much wider playing field for flash-driven consumer electronics," Jim Elliott, director of flash marketing for Samsung Semiconductor, said in a statement issued Sunday.

Samsung said its 51-nanometer production process can make NAND flash chips 60% more efficiently than the typical 60-nanometer process used in the industry. In addition, the new production process accelerates the read-write speeds by about 80% over current data processing speeds for comparable chip designs.

Samsung plans to integrate the chip with a suite of Flash software and firmware for storage devices for music phones and MP3 players. As the demand for video content grows, Samsung expects to promote the chip for storage in mid- to high-range digital cameras. The company expects the high-capacity chip to enter the mainstream market beginning late this year.

The latest product follows by about eight months Samsung's launch of production of a 60-nanometer 8-Gbyte NAND flash memory chip.

Samsung has been pushing the envelope in flash technology. In March, the company introduced a 64 Gbyte solid-state flash drive for ultra-portable notebooks. The South Korean company unveiled the 1.8-inch drive at its annual Mobile Solution Forum in Taipei, Taiwan, and said it planned to start mass production in the second quarter.