Micron Ships World's First 232-Layer NAND, Extends Technology Leadership

[btarunr]

Micron Technology, Inc., today announced that it has begun volume production of the world's first 232-layer NAND, built with industry-leading innovations to drive unprecedented performance for storage solutions. It features the industry's highest areal density and delivers higher capacity and improved energy efficiency over previous generations of Micron NAND, to enable best-in-class support of the most data-intensive use cases from client to cloud.

"Micron's 232-layer NAND is a watershed moment for storage innovation as first proof of the capability to scale 3D NAND to more than 200 layers in production," said Scott DeBoer, executive vice president of technology and products at Micron. "This groundbreaking technology required extensive innovation, including advanced process capabilities to create high aspect ratio structures, novel materials advancements and leading-edge design enhancements that build on our market-leading 176-layer NAND technology."



Leading-Edge Technology Delivers Unrivaled Performance
As the world generates more data, customers must expand their storage capacity and performance while reducing energy consumption and meeting more stringent environmental sustainability requirements. Micron's 232-layer NAND technology provides the high-performance storage necessary to support advanced solutions and real-time services required in data center and automotive applications, as well as responsive, immersive experiences on mobile devices, consumer electronics and PCs. This technology node enables the introduction of the industry's fastest NAND I/O speed - 2.4 gigabytes per second (GB/s) - to meet the low-latency and high-throughput needs of data-centric workloads such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, unstructured databases and real-time analytics, and cloud computing. That speed represents a 50% faster data transfer than the fastest interface enabled on Micron's 176-layer node. Micron 232-layer NAND also delivers up to 100% higher write bandwidth and more than 75% higher read bandwidth per die than the prior generation. These per-die benefits translate to performance and energy efficiency gains in SSDs and embedded NAND solutions.

In addition, 232-layer NAND introduces the world's first six-plane TLC production NAND. It has the most planes per die of any TLC flash and features independent read capability in each plane. The combination of high I/O speed, read and write latency, and Micron's six-plane architecture provides best-in-class data transfers in many configurations. This structure ensures fewer collisions between write and read commands and drives system-level quality-of-service improvements.

Micron's 232-layer NAND is the first in production to enable NV-LPDDR4, a low-voltage interface that delivers per-bit transfer savings of more than 30% compared to prior I/O interfaces. As a result, 232-layer NAND solutions offer ideal support for mobile applications and deployments in the data center and at the intelligent edge that must balance improved performance with low power consumption. The interface is also backward compatible to support legacy controllers and systems.

The compact form factor of 232-layer NAND offers customers flexibility in their designs while enabling the highest TLC density per square millimeter ever produced (at 14.6 Gb/mm²). The areal density is between 35% and 100% greater than competing TLC products in the market today. Shipping in a new 11.5 mm x 13.5 mm package, 232-layer NAND features a 28% smaller package size than previous Micron generations, making it the smallest high-density NAND available. More density in a smaller footprint minimizes board space for a diverse set of deployments.

Next-Generation NAND Enables Innovation Across Markets
"Micron has sustained technology leadership with successive first-to-market advancements in NAND layer count that enable benefits like longer battery life and more compact storage for mobile devices, better performance in cloud computing, and faster training of AI models," said Sumit Sadana, chief business officer at Micron. "Our 232-layer NAND is the new foundation and standard for end-to-end storage innovation underpinning digital transformation across industries."

The development of 232-layer NAND is the result of Micron's leadership in research, development and process technology advancements. The breakthrough capabilities of this NAND will enable customers to deliver more innovative solutions in data centers, thinner and lighter laptops, the latest mobile devices and across the intelligent edge.

Availability
Micron's 232-layer NAND is now in volume production in the company's Singapore fab. It is initially shipping to customers in component form and through its Crucial SSD consumer product line. Additional product and availability announcements will follow.

Micron's NAND Center of Excellence in Singapore is recognized by the World Economic Forum's Global Lighthouse Network for operational excellence in smart manufacturing. Advancements including AI tools, smart control systems and predictive capabilities allow Micron to accelerate product development, improve quality and achieve faster manufacturing yield ramps to shorten the time to market.

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[ExcuseMeWtf]

Moar cores layers!!11!!!!!111!!!!!

 

[bug]

I wouldn't mind a cheap 4TB Crucial MX/P thingy.

 

[Denver]

Disappointed with the stagnation... apparently it will reach 500 layers and zero difference in consumer perception.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Moar cores layers!!11!!!!!111!!!!!

The I/O speed is going from 1.6 MT/s to 2.4 MT/s, so it should make some kind of difference, at least to sequential throughput...

 

[BSim500]

Endurance figures? I've learned not to assume / take anything for granted with SSD marketing...

 

[bug]

Endurance figures? I've learned not to assume / take anything for granted with SSD marketing...

The industry stopped publishing endurance numbers since endurance numbers aren't doing them any favor. Still, this is TLC, so expect at least decent endurance.

 

[mouacyk]

it's so bitty

 

[TheLostSwede]

it's so bitty

Please don't use that word...

 

[R-T-B]

Disappointed with the stagnation... apparently it will reach 500 layers and zero difference in consumer perception.

That is more on the consumer than the tech.

The industry stopped publishing endurance numbers since endurance numbers aren't doing them any favor. Still, this is TLC, so expect at least decent endurance.

Also more layers tends to enable less dense processes, which means higher endurance. To a point anyways.

 

[zlobby]

Hmm, I wonder where is the breaking point for TSV-to-capacity tradeoff margin with such tall structures? Sure, they can go wide but to what extent to be... wait for it... viable? *ba dum ts*

Edit: not to forget the cooling when this thing gets hot.

 

[Chrispy_]

Until DirectStorage launches, I'm more than happy with PCIe 3.0 x2 speeds for SSDs. It's not about the peak bandwidth 99% of the time anyway, it's about half-decent IOPS and consistency. If this new 232-layer NAND reduces the cost/GB and means I can get a 4TB Steam library drive for an even lower price, I'll be happy.

I still struggle to notice meaningful differences in real-world use between my main machine running a WD Black at 3500MB/s and a living room PC running a 450MB/s SATA drive (MX300)

 

[lexluthermiester]

Moar cores layers!!11!!!!!111!!!!!

You can joke, but this advance will make reasonably priced 4TB SSDs a thing and 2TB/3TB SSDs more affordable while at the same time performing better and being more durable. This isn't just Micron tooting it's own horn, this is an actual technological advance that has tangible benefits to the end user.

 

[Minus Infinity]

I hope random performance is increased a fair bit with this tech. Massive sequentials are all good and fine, but make little difference to the typical computer user. Cooler running and lower power usage would also be very welcome.

And as others have said I hope this means 4TB ssd's stop being such a god damn rip-off. QLC is garbage.

 

[Prima.Vera]

Hopefully that means we are going to see cheaper and bigger drives, since we already have a big stagnation for a couple of years...
I hope is not just wishful thinking...

 

[Count von Schwalbe]

This is where the speeds actually live. A PCIe 4.0 drive with crappy NAND can be considerably slower on sequential read/writes, let alone random.

In addition, 232-layer NAND introduces the world's first six-plane TLC production NAND. It has the most planes per die of any TLC flash and features independent read capability in each plane.

This should help random reads.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Hopefully that means we are going to see cheaper and bigger drives, since we already have a big stagnation for a couple of years...
I hope is not just wishful thinking...

Since when has Micron failed to deliver on NAND tech they announce? This will be a thing and something good.

 

[Count von Schwalbe]

Since when has Micron failed to deliver on NAND tech they announce? This will be a thing and something good.

The NAND will come, and will be good, but not positive that we will see cheaper drives - considering how prices are rising for everything.

 

[Prima.Vera]

Since when has Micron failed to deliver on NAND tech they announce? This will be a thing and something good.

True, but then again, is not Micron that sells the flash products, but those callous companies that put profit above anything else.

 

[dicobalt]

Since I'm not running a server or doing scientific computing I have no use for more than SATA SSD sequential speed. All this speed means nothing until applications and games start to make use of DirectStorage.

 

[TheLostSwede]

True, but then again, is not Micron that sells the flash products, but those callous companies that put profit above anything else.

Like Crucial, which is Microns retail brand?

 

[Gungar]

Until DirectStorage launches, I'm more than happy with PCIe 3.0 x2 speeds for SSDs. It's not about the peak bandwidth 99% of the time anyway, it's about half-decent IOPS and consistency. If this new 232-layer NAND reduces the cost/GB and means I can get a 4TB Steam library drive for an even lower price, I'll be happy.

I still struggle to notice meaningful differences in real-world use between my main machine running a WD Black at 3500MB/s and a living room PC running a 450MB/s SATA drive (MX300)

And above all latency.

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

Please don't use that word...

Do you mind?

You can joke, but this advance will make reasonably priced 4TB SSDs a thing and 2TB/3TB SSDs more affordable while at the same time performing better and being more durable. This isn't just Micron tooting it's own horn, this is an actual technological advance that has tangible benefits to the end user.

I am looking forward to having 4TB ssds for the same price of 4tb HDDs (current prices). I'd like to stop buying wind chimes and scrap metal.

 

[thegnome]

All these layers.. I wonder if new nand chips/ssd's actually hold more? With all these layer increases you would expect a similar increase in atleast the max capacity version of a drive.

 

[lexluthermiester]

The NAND will come, and will be good, but not positive that we will see cheaper drives - considering how prices are rising for everything.

That's a fair point. Still, Micron wants to sell their products. They will likely make some of it available through their Crucial Brand at reasonable prices.

I am looking forward to having 4TB ssds for the same price of 4tb HDDs (current prices). I'd like to stop buying wind chimes and scrap metal.

We're still a ways off from that. However, prices will come down, they always do. Other NAND makers are gearing up to release their improved NAND offerings and things are very likely to get competitive.