SK hynix Delivers Engineering Samples of Terabyte-Level Solutions Based on 128-Layer 4D NAND

The era of terabyte memory is arriving with the development of NAND flash technology.

Solution products based on 128-layer 1Tb 4D NAND
(Clockwise from top left) 16TB E1.L eSSD, 2TB cSSD, and 1TB UFS 3.1

Especially, with technology in 3D stacking, controller and firmware, the performance of the NAND solution products for smartphones, PCs, and servers, is showing improvements in all aspects including power consumption, speed, and stability.

SK hynix, Inc. delivered the samples of its solution products based on its 128-layer 4D NAND, developed in June 2019.

The firm delivered the engineering samples of its terabyte-level high-density solutions based on the 128-layer 1Tb CTF (Charge Trap flash) based 4D NAND flash to major customers this month. These include 1TB UFS 3.1, 2TB cSSD (client SSD), and 16TB E1.L eSSD (enterprise SSD).

The company succeeded in the mass production of the 128-layer 1Tb TLC NAND for the first time in June 2019. A small chip size of the firm’s 4D NAND allows low power and thin solution products of terabyte level of capacity.

Ultra-thin (1.0mm) 1TB UFS 3.1 for 5G smartphones

In November this year, the company provided engineering samples of its 1TB UFS 3.1, based on the 128-layer 1Tb 4D NAND, to smartphone manufacturers. As the number of chips required to realize 1TB product has halved compared with using 512Gb NAND, the 1TB could be produced with a package thickness of 1mm, which is optimal for thin 5G smartphones. Smartphones equipped with this product are expected to be mass-produced around the second half of next year.

This product adopted a feature called Write Booster, which is a industry’s standard, and the firm’s in-house controller and firmware, doubling the sequential write performance. Thanks to this, one 4K UHD film of 15GB can be downloaded in 20s.

2TB cSSD with high power efficiency

2TB cSSD targets slim laptops and gaming PCs that require higher specifications. In this product, the 128-layer 1Tb TLC NAND Flash which realized a data transfer rate of 1,200Mb/s at 1.2V is combined with the firm’s own controller where hardware automation technology was applied, delivering the performance in PCIe Gen3 platforms.

The 2TB sample delivered to customers this time realized the power efficiency by lowering 6W in the previous 96-layer SSD product to 3W. After customer qualification, this product is expected to be used by major PC manufacturers from the first half of 2020.

16TB E1.L eSSD, standard form factor for next-gen data centers

Meanwhile, the company’s 16TB eSSD in a standard E1.L form factor, based on the cost competitive 128-layer 1Tb TLC NAND, is a PCIe standard product supporting the NVMe 1.4 protocol. It is expected that the mass-production of this product will begin from the second half of next year. This product can store more than 1,000 4K UHD movies of 15GB each. By applying the firm’s in-house controller and firmware, this product features a sequential read of 3,400MB/s and a sequential write of 3,000MB/s.

As the enterprise PCIe SSD market is expected to grow by average 53% annually until 2023, the company is concentrating more on this market. The firm’s market share in PCIe enterprise SSD in the second quarter of this year was 10.3%, increasing from 1.8% of the same period of the last year, based on Trendfocus.

“128-layer 1Tb 4D NAND boasts the industry’s highest density, best performance, and even cost competitiveness,” said VP Han Joo Na, head, NAND development strategy. “By accelerating the business of 128-layer NAND solutions, which provides high productivity and investment efficiency, SK hynix is reinforcing its competitiveness of the NAND business.“

28-layer 1Tb 4D NAND flash

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SK Hynix Mass-Producing 128-Layer 1Tb TLC 4D NAND Flash
Improved profitability with 40% higher productivity and 60% better investment efficiency
July 2, 2019 | Press Release