Intel and Micron Deliver 32 Nanometer NAND MLC Flash Chips

Intel Corporation and Micron Technology, Inc. introduced the industry’s first sub-40 nanometer (nm) NAND memory device, unveiling a 34nm 32 gigabit (Gb) multi-level cell chip. This process technology was jointly developed by Intel and Micron and manufactured by the companies’ NAND flash joint venture, IM Flash Technologies (IMFT). It is the smallest NAND process geometry on the market. The 32 Gb NAND chip is the only monolithic device at this density that fits into a standard 48-lead thin small-outline package (TSOP), providing a cost-effective path to higher densities in existing applications. Shipments of customer samples begin in June and mass production is expected during the second half of this year calendar.

"This new 32 Gb device provides the best bit storage density available in the industry," said Brian Shirley, vice president of Micron’s Memory Group. "Together with our partners at Intel, we’re proud to have now taken the lead in production process technology."

"The introduction of 34nm process technology highlights IMFT’s rapid progress and moves us to the forefront of NAND process technology," said Pete Hazen, director of marketing, Intel NAND Products Group. "These advancements will expand the value proposition and accelerate the adoption of solid-state drive (SSD) solutions in computing platforms."

The 34nm 32 Gb chips will be manufactured on 300 millimeter wafers, each producing approximately 1.6 terabytes of NAND. Measuring just 172mm², less than the size of a thumbnail, the 34nm 32 Gb chip will cost-effectively enable high-density solid-state storage in small form factor applications.

The 34nm 32Gb chip was designed with solid-state drives in mind. The product will enable more cost-effective SSDs, instantly doubling the current storage volume of these devices and driving capacities to beyond 256 GBs in today’s standard, smaller 1.8-inch form factor. SSDs are becoming the new storage medium for notebook computers, providing lower power, faster boot-up time, increased reliability, improved performance and reduced noise than hard disk drives. With the innovations in NAND process technology, such as with the 34nm NAND process, SSDs now offer a significant range of capacities to meet market requirements.

Based on the 34nm architecture, Intel and Micron also plan to introduce lower density multi-level cell products including single-level cell products, by the end of this year.

For more details on Intel NAND flash products

Comments

Here is an analysis from Jim Handy, from Objective Analysis.

INTEL & MICRON SKIP 40NM NAND PROCESS - JUMP TO 34NM

Intel and Micron today announced that the companies' IMFT joint venture will skip the "4x" generation of process technologies for their NAND flash and will jump from 52nm straight to 34nm. The two companies will use this technology to produce a 172mm 32Gb (4GB) MLC NAND chip that can fit in a standard TSOP package.
This chip is currently sampling to select customers and controller makers.
The companies point out that they entered the market at 72nm technology in 2006, which they believe was about 2 years behind their competition, and have caught up and surpassed these competitors, with as much as a 6-month lead.

What Does This Mean to the NAND Market?
OK. The NAND market is oversupplied. There is no question about that.
SanDisk recently issued guidance that agreed with Objective Analysis' December 2007 projection that the entire year would be oversupplied. Other NAND companies are likely to follow suit.
At the onset of an oversupply prices collapse to cost, then follow the cost until the market returns to a shortage. We expect today's oversupply to continue through 2008.
This does not mean that prices will follow the cost of the IMFT device. At a die size of 172mm, and on 300mm wafers where Intel and Micron's project about 400 dice per wafer, the price of a 32Gb chip will be just shy of $4.00, which works out to about $0.99/GB. The companies will be the first to break the $1.00/GB barrier with this product.
Keep in mind that today's MLC NAND prices are hovering near $2.50/GB. This is roughly equivalent to the cost of a 54nm process MLC chip produced on a 300mm line, or a 45nm process MLC NAND on a 200mm line. Most NAND makers are aiming to ramp 45nm in volume on a 300mm line this year, and a 45nm MLC NAND on a 300mm line should cost about $1.75/GB to produce. With a $0.99/GB price, the new IMFT chip can be expected to reap impressive margins as long as NAND prices stay above their competitors' costs.

On the other hand, a shift to 34nm could cause the NAND market to continue to be oversupplied for perhaps longer than Objective Analysis' December 2007 projection of the middle of 2009. Such a move might cause an oversupply to last an additional quarter.

As long as Micron's and Intel's competition manufactures more costly products these two companies will suffer smaller losses than will their competition, and that could even lead the highest-cost producers to leave the market, as Renesas did.

All in all, Objective Analysis sees this move as one that will perhaps lengthen today's oversupply while allowing the new NAND competitors - Micron and Intel - to either profit during these difficult times, or at least to suffer smaller losses than will other suppliers. This should help the companies in their goal to carve out a larger share of the market though aggressive investment and process shrinks.