Storage manufacturer Micron has started shipping the world's first 232-layer 3D NAND flash, which offers the highest triple-level cell (TLC) storage density available today.
Micron made a major leap in storage density over its previous 176-layer NAND technology, with the 232-layer NAND also promising to offer 50% faster data transfer speeds (2.4GB/s), 100% higher write bandwidth, and 75% higher read bandwidth. The storage density works out to 14.6 Gigabits per square millimeter, allowing for a 28% smaller package size compared to the previous generation NAND.
The new chips are in volume production at Micron's Singapore fab, and will initially be available through the company's Crucial consumer SSD product line and to its partners in component form. Micron plans to make the storage available for use across a wide range of devices and settings including smartphones, tablets, laptops, PC, data centers, and "intelligent edge" solutions later this year.
As to how much storage can be squeezed into their tiny 11.5-by-13.5mm package, Micron says we can expect up to 2 terabytes per chip, made possible by up to 1 terabit per die. There's also good news for mobile devices because the 232-layer NAND is the first in production to enable the NV-LPDDR4 low-voltage interface. It means a per-bit transfer saving of more than 30%, which should help with battery life.