Intel and micron will cease to be partners in the manufacture of memory nand

The longstanding collaboration between Intel and Micron for the development and manufacturing of NAND flash memory is soon to come to an end. Both companies have announced their intentions to go their own way after unveiling their third generation of 3D NAND modules later this year or early 2019.

Intel and Micron will break their alliance after 13 years

IM Flash Technologies, (IMFT) was formed by Intel and Micron 12 years ago as a joint venture to manufacture NAND flash. IMFT began experimenting with 72nm NAND memories shortly before SSDs began to become widespread, and for most of its history, it was one of the world's top four NAND flash manufacturers.

Intel and Micron have very different priorities for their NAND flash business. Intel uses its NANDs almost exclusively on its own SSDs, while Micron is both a major provider of SSDs and 'raw' NAND flash.

Intel and Micron are currently implementing the use of their second generation 64-layer NAND 3D, while developing the future 96-layer NAND 3D. Increasing the number of layers in the three-digit range may require a different manufacturing process to be adopted than is currently used, and Intel and Micron may disagree on when to make that change in methods.

The reality is that looking for the reasons is to enter the field of speculation, since both companies have not given details of why. Finally, they assure that the development of the 3DXPoint memory will not be affected by this division.

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