2nd generation intel 3d xpoint could be delayed to 2021

According to comments from Intel's annual report, the company's second-generation 3D XPoint products, Alder Stream and Barlow Pass, could be delayed until 2021.

Intel lags behind with its second-generation 3D XPoint technology

In 2018, Intel and Micron had announced that the companies would cease co-development of 3D XPoint after the second generation was completed, which at the time was expected to occur in the second half of 2019. At an event held in September Last year, Intel subsequently announced its second generation of 3D XPoint and provided a roadmap to the future.

In general, second-generation 3D XPoint memory would have four layers of memory, rather than the two layers of the first generation. This will double its density, but Intel has also attached importance to significant performance.

The company planned to launch Barlow Pass as persistent second-generation Optane DC memory and Alder Stream Optane DC SSD. The roadmap indicated that the products would be launched alongside the Whitley platform, which will see Cooper Lake in the first half of the year, followed by Ice Lake later in the year.

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However, comments in Intel's annual report (PDF) suggest that these products may not go on the market in 2020. Intel says the company will only send (engineering) samples of Alder Stream in 2020, while Barlow Pass will reach PRQ this year without any indication on shipments. However, Intel's 144-layer 3D NAND memory is still slated for 2020.

Intel is struggling to impose the 3D XPoint memory standard, which is present in its Optane DC units.

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