Micron confirms the use of nand qlc memory in its future ssd

First it was the SLC, then the MLC, then the TLC and now it is the turn of the QLC, all of these are the names of the different NAND memory technologies used to make SSD disks. The difference is in the number of bits that are stored per memory cell, being 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively. By increasing the number of bits stored per cell, a higher storage density is achieved so SSDs of the same capacity can be manufactured with smaller chips, making them cheaper. Micron was the last to confirm the use of QLC memory.

Micron will use QLC memories

QLC memories pose several problems, since they require a higher operating voltage than TLC and this causes cells to wear out faster due to successive write and erase operations, a problem that is already quite pronounced in TLC disks and that it will be even more so in memory-based QLCs, this is inevitable.

We recommend reading our post on SSD disks with TLC vs MLC memories

One way to compensate for this increased wear is by using more advanced controllers and with larger capacity disks, since having a higher number of cells reduces the number of times it is rewritten in each one. Toshiba claimed last year that its QLC memories support 1, 000 write cycles.

No details have yet been released on the capabilities of these new Micron NAND QLC based discs. These new memories offer a storage density 33% higher than that achieved with TLC, so it is surely a good indication of the increase in capacity that we can expect.

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