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Just like CPU manufacturers used to be in a race to be the first to hit 1GHz (AMD won that race, by the way), NAND flash makers are currently vying to be the first to reach 1 petabyte (1,000 terabytes) of storage in a single SSD. To do that, they’re going to need a lot of layers of NAND flash. According to a new report from industry researchers, Samsung might have found one simple trick that will allow it to cross the 1,000-layer finish line first.
At an upcoming technology symposium in Honolulu, Hawaii, one of the presentations will be made by researchers with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST). The discussion details note that the team will show its findings on using Hafnia Ferroelectrics as a “key enabler” of QLC NAND beyond 1,000 layers, which would be a watershed achievement in the world of non-volatile storage. The lecture is titled, “In-depth Analysis of the Hafnia Ferroelectrics as a Key Enabler for Low Voltage & QLC 3D VNAND Beyond 1K Layer Experimental Demonstration and Modeling.”
Samsung’s 9th generation V-NAND uses 290 layers, so it’s still far from its goal of 1,000 layers and petabyte capacity.
Credit: Samsung
As Wccftech notes, research into Hafnia ferroelectrics is groundbreaking and something that is still years away from reality, as the technology isn’t fully understood yet despite ongoing research. However, it could allow for much smaller electrical components if it’s ever proven reliable enough to replace existing technologies. Although Samsung isn’t directly involved with this research, the team working on it is reportedly aligned with Samsung. It’s believed the work they’re doing will be directly transferred to Samsung’s labs at some point if it bears enough fruit.
Samsung isn’t expected to be anywhere near 1,000 layers for another couple of years, and it might need a new technology such as this to get there. The symposium lecture notes state bluntly that Samsung’s 3D V-NAND is “currently approaching a state of stagnation,” which might indeed be the case. Samsung just announced its 9th generation V-NAND at 290 layers and is expected to announce its 10th generation at 430 layers in 2025 or so.