From InfoWorld: 3D NAND, which stacks layer upon layer of flash cells atop one another like a microscopic skyscraper, will become the prominent technology for all flash memory this year, according to a new report.
According to DRAMeXchange's latest forecast, NAND flash manufacturers have focused their efforts on converting fabrication plants to 3D NAND, which is denser, faster and less expensive to produce than traditional 2D (planar) NAND.
Following the footsteps of the leading 3D NAND producers Samsung and Micron, most NAND flash suppliers will begin mass production of 64-layer 3D NAND chips in the second half of 2017, according to DRAMeXchange's report.
Earlier this year, Western Digital (WD) and partner Toshiba, kicked off production of a 64-layer NAND flash product, the industry's densest with three bits of data stored in each flash cell.
The 3D NAND flash chips are based on a vertical stacking or 3D technology that WD and Toshiba call BiCS (Bit Cost Scaling). WD has launched pilot production of its first 512 gigabit (Gb) 3D NAND chip based on the 64-layer NAND flash technology.
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