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msystems Debuts 4 bit/cell NAND Tech
Staff Reporter -- Electronic News, 5/11/2006
msystems today announced its x4 technology, a breakthough that it says is can improve NAND flash manufacturing economics
The x4 technology increases fab profitability with no changes to current NAND manufacturing processes, the company claimed. The technology is designed to enable utilization of 4-bit/cell NAND flash. x4 NAND components, likely to be mass produced during 2007, according to the company, will comprise the first-ever 4-bit/cell NAND flash media and an x4 technology controller, msystems said.
The company predicts NAND flash manufacturers will realize more than 30 percent cost savings in comparison with 2-bit/cell multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash wafers manufactured today. The savings comes from doubling bit density in comparison with such MLC NAND flash, and quadrupling it when compared with single-level cell (SLC) NAND flash, msystems said.
"Judging by the undisputed success of 2-bit/cell MLC NAND flash technology and the significant cost savings x4 technology is designed to deliver to NAND flash manufacturers, we believe x4 NAND components are set to further push flash memory from prevalent to pervasive, ushering in new generations of affordable, multimedia-rich, personal storage for consumer electronics devices," Dov Moran, president and CEO of msystems, said in a statement.
With a decrease in price per gigabyte of more than 80 percent over the past three years, NAND flash storage is the memory medium of choice for many devices in the consumer electronics space. msystems has its x4 sites set on consumer electronics devices, such as digital audio (MP3) players, consumer solid state drives, portable media players, digital video cameras, GPS devices, multimedia and music handsets, memory cards and USB flash drives.
Driven by the widespread availability of personal storage devices, the demand for NAND flash memory is expected to surge. Gartner recently has forecast that the NAND flash market will grow from $11.96 billion in 2005 to $24.7 billion in 2010.
"The NAND flash market is experiencing phenomenal growth fueled by the digital revolution. Building new manufacturing fabs to satisfy tremendous demand requires huge investments, and such efforts may not be recognized in a fiercely competitive environment," Joseph Unsworth, principal research analyst at Gartner, said in the statement. "Technology developments that leverage existing NAND manufacturing processes can be critical in helping manufacturers achieve significant cost savings without the burden of major capital expenditures, thereby enabling higher profitability."
