Sk hynix is ​​already testing its first products with 128-layer 3d nand

SK Hynix announced this week that it has started testing the first products based on its 128-layer 3D NAND flash memory, which will soon begin to appear on consumer devices for the end user.

SK Hynix already tests its first products with 128-layer 3D NAND

The 96-layer 3D NAND memories were released a year ago, but low prices forced them to cut production, with their main production being those fourth-generation 72-layer 3D NANDs.

SK Hynix announced in June that its 128-layer 3D NAND had moved from development to mass production, and has now been incorporated into SSDs and UFS modules, which are a sample for major customers.

The 96-layer generation represented a major technological advance for SK Hynix, with a move to a denser peripheral under cell structure and a huge jump in matrix I / O rates. This technology was significant enough for SK Hynix to use as justification to brand their flash "4D NAND, " but Intel and Micron have been doing pretty much the same thing since their first generation of 3D NAND.

SK Hynix's 128-layer generation promises a further speed boost from 1.2GT / s to 1.4GT / s and debuts with an industry-leading 1Tb (128GB) capacity TLC array, they say. In the short term, SK Hynix plans to introduce the new generation of 3D NAND in the market segments with the highest margins, while its more mature 72- and 96-layer processes remain for the most cost-sensitive products.

Visit our guide on the best SSD drives on the market

In the customer SSD market, original equipment manufacturers now rate SK Hynix's next-generation M.2 NVMe SSDs with capacities up to 2TB and power consumption of about 3W, up from 6 W of previous generation SSDs, which used 96 layers.

SK Hynix expects these SSDs to start appearing on laptops in the first half of 2020.

Anandtech font