It appears that Silicon Motion is ready to start competing with Phison in the PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD controller market, as the company has shown a new controller at the Flash Memory Summit 2023 which should give Phison a run for its money. The SM2508 as the controller is called is set to be the most power efficient PCIe 5.0 NVMe controller to date, with a power consumption of 3.5 W, which is in line with most PCIe 4.0 SSD controllers. This still means that a decent heatsink will be needed, but not active cooling or massive heatsinks that we've seen on the current crop of PCIe 5.0 drives based on Phison's E26 controller.

Silicon Motion also appears to have the Phison E26 beat, in terms of performance, as the SM2508 promises to deliver sequential read and write speeds of up to 14 GB/s. Random performance is rated at 2.5 million IOPS read and 2.4 million IOPS write. To get the most out of the SM2508 2400 MT/s or faster NAND flash is going to be needed to deliver the claimed performance figures though, but according to Anandtech, the SM2508 is future proofed by supporting NAND flash speeds of up to 3600 MT/s, so we might see faster drives based on the controller once faster NAND appears, such as SK Hynix new 321-layer NAND, which is scheduled for a 2025 introduction. The SM2508 on the other hand is said to be launching at the end of this year or early 2024.

SK hynix Inc. 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 1 Tb TLC 4D NAND Flash and displayed the samples at the Flash Memory Summit (FMS) 2023 taking place Aug. 8-10 in Santa Clara.

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."

Phison Electronics, a global leader in NAND flash and storage solutions, announces a technology demonstration of unique customer-based solutions fully realized through the IMAGIN+ customization service at Flash Memory Summit 2023.

Phison has expanded its IMAGIN+ design service to include AI computational models and AI services solutions. Customers work with specialized Phison teams to design and engineer custom flash deployments that precisely address the data performance and endurance requirements of next generation products including those highly optimized for aiDAPTIV AI+ML workloads. With IMAGIN+ design services, Phison teams work hand-in-hand with customers to deliver AI-boosted SSD solutions that address demanding requirements.

Earlier today, Samsung released its Q2 results, which were a mixed bag with many business units underperforming. However, none were doing as poorly as Samsung's memory business which made a loss of 4.36 trillion Won or around US$3.4 billion. Although not mentioned in the financial report, Reuters are reporting that Samsung is looking to cut production of NAND and DRAM further, as the publication is pointing out that Samsung's chipset business as a whole lost a staggering 8.9 trillion Won or US$7 billion. That said, the loss wasn't quite as bad as in the first quarter of the year and Samsung is expected to cut the loss in half for Q3.

In a statement to Reuters, Samsung said "Production cuts across the industry are likely to continue in the second half, and demand is expected to gradually recover as clients continue to destock their (chip) inventory." This suggests that the expected recovery isn't going to happen as soon as the DRAM and NAND manufacturers expected, as there simply isn't enough demand for either product. SK Hynix has already announced that it's cutting production a further five to 10 percent for NAND, but the company doesn't appear to have had quite as big losses as Samsung. For the time being, this is good news for consumers, as RAM and SSD pricing is about as low as it has ever been. However, with production cuts from all the three major manufacturers of DRAM and NAND, prices will most likely start going up soon, especially as Samsung is said to have depleted most of its inventories.

Samsung Electronics today reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2023. The Company posted KRW 60.01 trillion in consolidated revenue, a 6% decline from the previous quarter, mainly due to a decline in smartphone shipments despite a slight recovery in revenue of the DS (Device Solutions) Division. Operating profit rose sequentially to KRW 0.67 trillion as the DS Division posted a narrower loss, while Samsung Display Corporation (SDC) and the Digital Appliances Business saw improved profitability.

The Memory Business saw results improve from the previous quarter as its focus on High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) and DDR5 products in anticipation of robust demand for AI applications led to higher-than-guided DRAM shipments. System semiconductors posted a decline in profit due to lower utilization rates on weak demand from major applications.

NEO Semiconductor, a leading developer of innovative technologies for 3D NAND flash and DRAM memory, today announced its participation at Flash Memory Summit 2023, taking place in person in Santa Clara, California, on August 8-10. CEO, Andy Hsu, will deliver a keynote address titled "New Architectures which will Drive Future 3D NAND and 3D DRAM Solutions" on August 9th at 11:40 a.m. Pacific Time.

Earlier this year, Neo Semiconductor announced the launch of its ground-breaking technology, 3D X-DRAM. This development is the world's first 3D NAND-like DRAM cell array that is targeted to solve DRAM's capacity bottleneck and replace the entire 2D DRAM market. 3D X-DRAM can be manufactured using the existing 3D NAND flash memory process with minor changes, significantly reducing the time and cost spent developing a new 3D process. During the keynote, Mr. Hsu will reveal the 3D X-DRAM process flow and technical details.

SK hynix Inc. today reported financial results for the second quarter of 2023. The company recorded revenue of 7.306 trillion won, operating loss of 2.882 trillion won (with operating margin of negative 39%), and net loss of 2.988 trillion won (with net margin of negative 41%) for the three-month period ended June 30, 2023.

"Amid an expansion in generative artificial intelligence (AI) market, which has largely been centered on ChatGPT, demand for AI server memory has increased rapidly," the company said. "As a result, sales of premium products such as HBM3 and DDR5 increased, leading to a 44% sequential increase in revenue for the second quarter, while operating loss narrowed by 15%."

Micron Technology, Inc., today announced the Crucial X9 Pro Portable SSD and Crucial X10 Pro Portable SSD, two new performance offerings in the Crucial Pro Series product portfolio, designed for content creators such as photographers, videographers, designers, or any performance-seeking consumer. Both drives utilize Micron TLC NAND and leverage a revolutionary single-ASIC portable storage architecture to enable a breakthrough, ultra-compact, lightweight form factor and allows Micron to ship the most capacity per square millimeter in the industry. With either the Crucial X9 Pro and X10 Pro, users can safely store, transport and backup important videos, photos, files and more on the go, without cloud or internet access at lightning-fast speeds.

"We recognize that fast, efficient workflow processes are essential to the success of videographers, photographers and other content creators," said Jonathan Weech, senior director of product marketing for Micron's Commercial Products Group. "We designed and built our two new portable SSDs, the Crucial X9 Pro and the Crucial X10 Pro, to specifically address these demanding workloads. With more photos and videos being taken than ever before, consumers are looking for ways to save, preserve and protect their digital lives reliably and quickly. These two new Crucial Pro Portable SSDs are a great choice for anyone who needs dependable, fast, high-capacity storage."

The first batch of PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSDs didn't quite deliver on the promise of doubling performance from PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs, but now it appears that Sabrent has managed to work some magic with its upcoming Rocket X5 SSD. The SSD is still based on the same Phison E26 controller as all other current PCIe 5.0 NVMe drives and from what we know, the controller is paired to Micron's 232-layer B58R NAND, a combination that should be able to reach 2400 MT/s across eight channels. However, it's not the only drive with this combination of components, so it seems like the magic here might be in the firmware.

A 2 TB version of the Rocket X5 was tested in CrystalDiskMark 8.0.4 and reached a read speed of 14,179 MB/s or just over 14 GB/s, with write speeds trailing somewhat at 12,280 MB/s. The random 4K numbers are looking good too with 106 MB/s for reads and 448 MB/s for writes, a step up from the competition at least, if not a major one with regards to the read speed. The downside you ask? Sabrent has equipped the Rocket X5 with not only a heatsink and heatpipes, but also a tiny fan, which is likely to add some noise at some time in the future when the fan starts to give up. We obviously don't know the price of the Rocket X5 either, but Sabrent tends to have competitively priced products.

TrendForce reports that OEMs have continued making concerted efforts to scale back production. However, given that the trajectory of market demand is still unclear, it's expected that the NAND Flash market will continue to be in a state of oversupply in 3Q23. Cautious inventory management by buyers is preventing a stabilization in NAND Flash prices even with an anticipated seasonal surge in demand for 2H23. TrendForce predicts that NAND Flash wafers will be the first to see a price hike in 3Q23 as prices for module products such as SSDs, eMMCs, and UFS will likely continue to fall due to tepid downstream demand. Consequently, the overall ASP of NAND Flash is forecast to continue dropping by about 3~8% in 3Q23, though a possibility exists prices may recover in 4Q23.

Client SSD: Although notebook shipments are expected to gradually recover in 3Q23, reversing an oversupply of SSD will continue to be challenging. Furthermore, a portion of suppliers have implemented aggressive promotions to secure customer orders and hit shipping targets in light of weakened demand and less-than-satisfactory order volumes from major clients, putting pressure on other suppliers. TrendForce estimates that the ASP of client SSDs will fall by 8~13% in the third quarter.

Transcend Information (Transcend), a leading manufacturer of embedded memory products, is proud to release the latest U.2 NVMe SSD, the UTE210T. Designed for generative AI, high-performance computing (HPC), and big data analytics, this powerful SSD is built with the 112-layer 3D NAND flash, an 8-channel controller, and a PCIe Gen 4x4 interface. Experience high speeds, low latency, and minimal power consumption with your systems, but most of all, enjoy sequential R/W speeds of up to 7,200/6,500 MB/s and stable and reliable system performance that supports various applications of use.

Compliant with the NVMe 1.4 specification, Transcend's UTE210T comes bundled with a U.2 connector, enabling the drive to configure the PCIe interface with the U.2 backplane, ultimately enhancing transfer stability without compromising your servers. To address the demanding workloads associated with AI, its built-in DRAM provides exceptional random read speeds, which not only reduces NAND flash Program/Erase cycles (P/E cycles), but effectively extends drive lifespan to help manage a wide range of workloads. The UTE210T comes with up to 8 TB of storage capacity, ensuring servers and data centers are able to process vast amounts of data without compromising system performance.

Seagate Technology Holdings today introduced the next generation of SSD technology to its lineup, the FireCuda 540. The PCIe Gen 5 NVMe SSD delivers unparalleled performance to gamers, creators, and tech enthusiasts - adding the fastest speeds and endurance to the company's line of PC storage products.

Seagate's fastest and highest performance M.2 2280 SSD, the FireCuda 540 delivers sequential read speeds of up to 10,000 MB/s and sequential write speeds of up to 10,000 MB/s. Built for sustained, pro-level gaming and accelerated content creation, the new drive performs up to 50% faster than Gen 4 M.2 NVMe drives and 17 times faster than SATA-based SSDs. With the latest 3D TLC NAND technology and built with a Seagate-validated E26 controller, the FireCuda 540 provides the most advanced speed and durability - allowing users to push limits when gaming or creating content. Plug-and-play compatible with all PCIe Gen 5 motherboards and backwards compatible with PCIe Gen 4, the drive is accessible and ready for trailblazing.

SK hynix is set to release SK hynix Beetle X31, a portable solid-state drive (SSD) for consumers, in global markets starting with the U.S. later in June. As the company's first portable SSD, the X31 has been praised for its superior performance, convenient portability, and stylish design following its launch in South Korea in May 2023. In particular, the SSD can reach operating speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second (Gbps) while it also possesses exceptional heat management capabilities. Released amid a growth in the portable SSD market, the X31 meets the rising demand for storage devices to not only rapidly read and write but also store data safely on-the-go.

The X31 combines SK hynix's technologies which enabled optimal power consumption in the Gold P31 and the highest specifications for a consumer SSD in the Platinum P41. Moreover, while DRAM-less SSDs have become widespread as part of industry efforts to cut costs, SK hynix opted to maximize the performance of the X31 by applying DRAM as a buffer inside of the SSD. Accordingly, the X31 can deliver a maximum sequential read speed of 1,050 megabytes per second (MB/s) and a maximum sequential write speed of 1,000 MB/s. At these speeds, it is possible to transfer a 1 GB file in just one second. More specifically, the X31 is able to transfer 500 GB of data while maintaining an optimal speed of over 900 MB/s. This is because the X31 strikes a balance between managing heat generated from fast data movement and maximizing write speeds.

Micron Technology, Inc., one of the world's largest semiconductor companies, today announced plans to build a new assembly and test facility in Gujarat, India. Micron's new facility will enable assembly and test manufacturing for both DRAM and NAND products and address demand from domestic and international markets.

Phased construction of the new assembly and test facility in Gujarat is expected to begin in 2023. Phase 1, which will include 500,000 square feet of planned cleanroom space, will start to become operational in late 2024, and Micron will ramp capacity gradually over time in line with global demand trends. Micron expects Phase 2 of the project, which would include construction of a facility similar in scale to Phase 1, to start towards the second half of the decade.

Micron Technology, Inc. announced today that it is now delivering qualification samples of its Universal Flash Storage (UFS) 4.0 mobile solution, built on its advanced 232-layer 3D NAND. Offered in high capacities up to 1 terabyte (TB), the UFS 4.0 storage solution is being shipped to select global smartphone manufacturers and chipset vendors. Micron's newest mobile flash storage outpaces competition on several critical NAND benchmarks, delivering the industry's fastest performance for flagship smartphones with fast bootup, app launches and video downloads.

"Micron's latest mobile solution tightly weaves together our best-in-class UFS 4.0 technology, proprietary low-power controller, 232-layer NAND and highly configurable firmware architecture to deliver unmatched performance," said Mark Montierth, corporate vice president and general manager of Micron's Mobile Business Unit. "Together, these technologies position Micron at the forefront of delivering the performance and low-power innovations our customers need to enable an exceptional end-user experience for flagship smartphones."

Lam Research Corp. (Nasdaq: LRCX) today introduced Coronus DX, the industry's first bevel deposition solution optimized to address key manufacturing challenges in next-generation logic, 3D NAND and advanced packaging applications. As semiconductors continue to scale, manufacturing becomes increasingly complex with hundreds of process steps needed to build nanometer-sized devices on a silicon wafer. In a single step, Coronus DX deposits a proprietary layer of protective film on both sides of the wafer edge that helps prevent defects and damage that can often occur during advanced semiconductor manufacturing. This powerful protection increases yield and enables chipmakers to implement new leading-edge processes for the production of next-generation chips. Coronus DX is the newest addition to the Coronus product family and extends Lam's leadership in bevel technology.

"In the era of 3D chipmaking, production is complex and costly," said Sesha Varadarajan, senior vice present of the Global Products Group at Lam Research. "Building on Lam's expertise in bevel innovation, Coronus DX helps drive more predictable manufacturing and significantly higher yield, paving the way for adoption of advanced logic, packaging and 3D NAND production processes that weren't previously feasible."

SK hynix Inc. 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 2.4 Gb 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.

Phison Electronics, a global leader in NAND controllers and storage solutions, will showcase its high-speed transmission and storage solutions at the annual Taipei International Computer Show (COMPUTEX) in Taiwan. At COMPUTEX, Phison will illuminate the future of intelligent storage. The show kicks off on Tuesday, May 30 through Friday, June 2.

Building upon its globally acclaimed flagship PCIe 5.0 SSD PS5026-E26 storage solution, Phison Electronics will unveil its latest offering at COMPUTEX. The new addition is the PCIe 5.0 DRAM-less SSD controller PS5031-E31T, featuring a 7 nm process that ensures low power consumption. With an impressive maximum read/write performance of 10.5 GB/s, it represents a PCIe 5.0 SSD storage solution that excels in performance and power efficiency. In addition, Phison will introduce the next-generation PCIe 4.0 DRAM-less SSD controller PS5027-E27T, engineered with a 12 nm process and offering a remarkable maximum read/write speed of 7400/6400 MB/s. It is anticipated that the PCIe 5.0 PS5031-E31T and PCIe 4.0 PS5027-E27T SSD storage solutions will comprehensively meet the diverse needs of PC OEM partners and customers.

Kioxia Corporation today commenced operation of two new R&D facilities - the Flagship Building at the Yokohama Technology Campus and the Shin-Koyasu Technology Front - strengthening the company's research and development capabilities in flash memory and solid-state drives (SSDs). Going forward, other R&D functions in Kanagawa Prefecture will be relocated to these new R&D hubs to improve research efficiency and promote further advancement in technological innovation.

With the addition of the new Flagship Building, the Yokohama Technology Campus will almost double in size, allowing Kioxia to expand its capabilities in evaluating flash memory and SSD products, thereby enhancing overall product development and product quality. Equipped with environmentally-friendly facilities, the Flagship Building has also acquired ZEB-Ready certification, which is given to buildings that reduce energy consumption by 50% or more through improved energy efficiency.

Essencore KLEVV brought in a formidable lineup of new PCIe Gen 5 NVMe SSDs and DDR5 memory for gamers and overclockers, at the 2023 Computex. The lineup is led by the KLEVV CRAS V RGB series of DDR5 memory that comes in high-end speeds of DDR5-6000 (30-36-36-76 @ 1.35 V), DDR5-6400 (32-38-38-78 @ 1.35 V), DDR5-7200 (34-44-44-84 @ 1.40 V), DDR5-7600 (36-46-46-86 @ 1.40 V), and DDR5-8000 (38-48-48-128 @ 1.55 V). These modules feature both Intel XMP 3.0 and AMD EXPO SPD profiles. The KLEVV BOLT V series form the company's mid-range, offering speeds of DDR5-6000 (30-36-36-76 @ 1.35 V), DDR5-6400 (32-38-38-78 @ 1.35 V), and DDR5-6800 (34-40-40-80 @ 1.35 V). Both XMP 3.0 and EXPO are to be found even with these modules. The company interestingly also has standard modules for DDR5-4800 and DDR5-5600, which make do with just 1.1 V. We also spied KLEVV's odd-capacity 24 GB and 48 GB CRAS V RGB modules.

The storage lineup for Essencore is led by the KLEVV CRAS C950 PCIe Gen 5 NVMe SSD, and the CRAS C910 Gen 4 SSD. The CRAS C950 comes in 1 TB, 2 TB, and 4 TB capacities, and uses a Phison E26-series controller paired with 3D TLC NAND flash. The 1 TB variant offers up to 11.5 GB/s sequential reads, with up to 8.5 GB/s sequential writes, while the 2 TB and 4 TB models do up to 12 GB/s sequential reads, with up to 11 GB/s sequential writes. The drive uses a chunky passive aluminium heatsink to keep cool. The CRAS C910, on the other hand, comes both as a bare drive (without heatsink), and as the CRAS C910 RGB, where it features a heatsink with an RGB diffuser. The drive uses an InnoGrit IG5220 controller, comes in capacities of up to 1 TB, and offers speeds of up to 5 GB/s sequential reads, with up to 4.8 GB/s sequential writes.

Chinese InnoGrit has proved to be something of a competent contender in the high-end SSD controller market and at Computex 2023 the company was displaying an early sample of its upcoming IG5666 consumer focused PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD controller. At the moment the company has taped out the controller, but aren't happy with the physical size of the chip and will be doing another tape out for a more optimised chip. Innogrit is using a 16 nm node for the controller, which might be part of the reason why they're having a hard time to get it the right size, but there's also cost reasons that have to be taken into consideration.

Based on the early samples, InnoGrit is expecting it to reach sequential speeds of up to 14 GB/s read and 11 GB/s write. Random performance is said to reach 3 million read and 2.5 million write IOPs. The controller should support up to 16 TB of NAND flash and it supports all common types of NAND up to a speed of 2400 MT/s. The IG5666 is based on the same Tacoma architecture as InnoGrit's IG5669, which is targeting enterprise use, yet delivers similar performance.

Solidigm, a leading global provider of innovative NAND flash memory solutions, is expanding its D5 Product Series with the Solidigm D5-P5430, a new QLC solid-state storage drive (SSD) optimized for mainstream and read-intensive workloads. With most of today's enterprise applications read-dominant, the D5-P5430—a 4th gen PCIe QLC SSD—offers substantial storage density and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) opportunities while delivering read performance that is equivalent to the most widely-adopted TLC SSDs.

The D5-P5430 is optimized for mainstream workloads (e.g., email/unified communications, decision support systems, object storage, and virtual desktop infrastructure) and read-intensive workloads (e.g., content delivery networks, data lakes/pipelines, video-on-demand). These workloads are typically 80% reads or higher and need to move massive amounts of data at high throughput.

SK Hynix seems to be getting into being a retail brand in the storage market space and its latest addition to its product range looks pretty interesting, in more ways than one. The compact 74 x 46 x 14.8 mm (WxDxH) SSD goes under the name of Beetle X31 and judging by the packaging, it's meant to look like a golden Egyptian scarab, although SK Hynix was clearly not bold enough to follow through with the housing design. Regardless, the small golden puck looks pretty nifty, but it also hides some rather interesting technology under its shell.

Fortunately for us, a Korean YouTuber has already disassembled the drive and based on the specs, it appears to have an ASMedia ASM2362 PCIe 3.0 x2 to USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) bridge chip, which allows the internal NVMe drive to interface with the USB Type-C port on the device. The internal NVMe SSD is also rather intriguing and it'll most likely be found in some other devices. It appears to follow the M.2 2242 form factor, but it's only equipped with a single chip, which is said to house not only the NAND flash, but also the SSD controller and some kind of DRAM, as this is not a DRAM-less SSD. The Beetle X31 will be available in 512 GB and 1 TB sizes, with the 1 TB model retailing for 138,000 Korean won, or around US$103. An optional protective case is also available as an accessory.

Due to the current lack of demand for NAND flash, the merger talks between Kioxia and Western Digital have picked up pace once again. The two companies have been at it since 2021 and it was reported back in January that the two companies once again wanted to try and combine their NAND production business. According to Reuters, the two have been pushed into the meeting room once again, largely due to the two NAND giants wanting to cut costs in a market where demand for their products isn't what it once was.

Kioxia and Western Digital are the second and fourth largest manufacturers of NAND flash, although all the memory is made in Kioxia's facilities. A merger of the two would create a company that is said to be owned at 43 percent by Kioxia and 37 percent by Western Digital, with current shareholders of the two companies getting the remaining 20 percent. However, a potential merger isn't without hurdles, as it's likely to be scrutinised by both the US and the PRC due to potential antitrust issues, with the combined company owning a third of the global NAND flash market. Kioxia has even shelved plans for a public offering, due to the sluggish demand for NAND flash. Time will tell if the two can come to an agreement, but it doesn't look like the best of times for a merger either.

MSI is announcing the launch of our flagship PCIe 4.0 lineup to its SSD product line - SPATIUM M480 PRO series. MSI SSDs refine our company's identity as a high-performance PC brand by expanding our ecosystem and covering the high-performance storage category. These SSDs are built with high-quality, high-density 3D NAND flash that deliver the ultimate PRO performance for PCIe 4.0 with up to 7400 MB/s sequential read and 7000 sequential write.

The SPATIUM M480 PRO boasts up to 60% faster random read/write speeds, enabling a supremely responsive experience and minimal latency in gameplay and productivity under heavy workloads for professionals, content creators, and gamers. Other performance-improving technologies include DRAM cache buffer and an SLC cache.