SK hynix begins offering samples of 176-layer NAND chip

SK hynix' 176-layer NAND Flash memory chip. [SK HYNIX]

SK hynix has begun providing samples of its 176-layer 4D NAND Flash chip, the semiconductor manufacturer said Monday, as it prepares to roll out the highest stacked NAND memory chip on the market.

The new chip has a storage capacity of 512 gigabytes.

The use of 4D in the product's name is a marketing term as the chip is still based on 3-D technology. The company adopted the term to highlight the advanced techniques used — namely Charge Trap Flash and Peri Under Cell — which is designed to boost performance and reduce energy.

Using those techniques, the latest chip achieved meaningful improvement in both performance and cost.

“This allows the bit productivity to be improved by 35 percent compared to the previous generation with the differentiated cost competitiveness,” said SK hynix in a statement, adding that the read speed increased by 20 percent over the previous generation.

The chipmaker expects the new generation chip will debut in the market in the middle of next year.

The next step, the company said, is to develop a chip with 1-terabyte capacity based on the advanced stacking technique.

According to market intelligence provider Omdia, the NAND Flash market is estimated to expand from 431.8 billion gigabytes in 2020 to 1.366 trillion gigabytes in 2024, increasing 33.4 percent annually.

BY PARK EUN-JEE [park.eunjee@joongang.co.kr]