IC China: From Yangtze Memory Technologies, 64-Layer 3D NAND With Xtacking Architecture Into Mass Production

Yangtze Memory Technologies Co., Ltd. (YMTC) from Tsinghua Unigroup, announced has put its 64-layer 256Gb TLC 3D NAND flash memory ⁽¹⁾ with Xtacking architecture into mass production to meet market demands for SSD embedded storage and other mainstream storage devices.

64-layer 3D NAND flash memory wafer

As China’s first 64-layer 3D NAND flash memory wafer, the product was exhibited at the booth of Tsinghua Unigroup at IC China 2019.

The 64-layer 3D NAND flash memory wafer, a flash memory designed on the basis of Xtacking architecture, has been put into mass production. It possesses high density among same-layer products ⁽²⁾. With the technology, periphery circuits and memory cell operations are processed on a separate wafer. Once the processing of the array wafer is complete, the two wafers are connected electrically through billions of metal VIAs (Vertical Interconnect Accesses) that are formed simultaneously across the whole wafer in one process step. Compared with traditional 3D NAND flash architecture, Xtacking can bring I/O speed, higher bit density, and faster time-to-market.

As an integrated device manufacturer (IDM), the firm is dedicated to providing global customers with storage solutions and services. It plans to launch SSD, UFS, and other products installed with 64-layer 3D NAND flash memory for enterprise servers, PCs, and mobile devices.

The company always focuses on t R&D and innovation of core technologies. The development of Xtacking technology and the mass production of 64-layer 3D NAND flash memory mark that the firm has blazed a trail of innovatively designing and manufacturing high-end chips.

In the future, the company will continue to invest more R&D resources into the iteration of technologies and products, ensuring that all product gens gain market competitiveness and can better meet the demands of customers.

Cheng Weihua, CO-CTO, YMTC, and SVP, technical R&D center, said: “By introducing the Xtacking architecture into mass production, we can considerably improve product performance and shorten the development cycle and production/manufacturing cycle, thereby facilitating the rapid expansion of high-speed large-density storage solutions in the market. As the era of 5G, AI, and super-large data centers approaches, flash memory market demands will continue to grow. The mass production of YMTC’s 64-layer 3D NAND flash memory will inject new energy for the robust development of the global memory market.“

Update on core areas of YMTC

⁽¹⁾ The density of each raw die is 256MB, and the 3D NAND flash has 3 bits in each memory cell.
⁽²⁾ Same-layer products refers to the 64-layer and 72-layer 3D NAND flash memory on the market.