SK hynix introduces the world’s first NAND flash aiming at AI applications and high-performance storage.
In a significant technological advancement, SK hynix, South Korea has announced the mass production of the world’s first 321-layer NAND flash, featuring a 1Tb capacity. Developed by using unique stacking techniques, this new product marks a key milestone in the NAND flash industry.
The company’s new flash storage is built on a process known as “Three Plugs,” which allows the company to stack over 300 layers of memory cells efficiently. The process involves creating vertical plugs that electrically connect the layers, boosting both speed and power efficiency. As part of this innovation, the company also developed a low-stress material to prevent wafer warping, ensuring better structural integrity and performance. This advanced memory solution is expected to cater to industries and sectors focused on AI technologies, data centres, and high-performance computing, where the demand for powerful and energy-efficient storage is rapidly increasing.
The newly developed storage improves upon its predecessor, a 238-layer version introduced last year, by increasing data transfer speed by 12% and enhancing read performance by 13%. Additionally, power efficiency during data reading has been improved by more than 10%. These advancements make it an ideal solution for emerging AI applications, which demand high-speed performance and energy efficiency. It is likely to attract customers in fields such as AI-driven data centres, cloud services, and on-device AI applications, all of which require reliable, high-capacity memory.
“SK hynix is committed to becoming a leading AI memory provider,” said Jungdal Choi, head of NAND development, SK hynix. “This development brings us closer to our goal of offering a full-stack solution for AI storage, which will support both SSDs for AI data centres and on-device AI technology.”
By using the same platform used for its 238-layer NAND, the company has managed to increase production efficiency by 59%, demonstrating their ability to scale up manufacturing while maintaining high quality. As AI technologies continue to evolve, the company’s advancements in NAND flash memory position the company as a strong contender in the rapidly growing AI storage market. The company plans to begin supplying this innovative storage solution to customers in the first half of 2025.
