NAND flash vendors are all poised to introduce their 200-plus-layer chip offerings between the end of 2022 and 2023, a milestone for the industry in transitioning to higher-density 3D NAND flash memory.

Among the vendors, Samsung Electronics and Micron Technology could be the first racing to kick off volume production of 200-plus-layer 3D NAND flash chips, the sources said.

Samsung kicked off production at its new fab in Pyeongtaek, South Korea during the second half of 2021, and will step up its 176-layer 3D NAND chip output at the fab this year, the sources indicated. Transitioning to 176-layer 3D NAND flash manufacturing is expected to boost Samsung's total output at the new fab to 50,000 wafers monthly in 2022, the sources noted.

Samsung has been also stepping up its 128-layer 3D NAND chip output at its Xi'an plan in China, where the vendor is constructing the phase-two facility of the plant designed for monthly output of 130,000-140,000 wafers, the sources said. Samsung is capable of processing 120,000 wafers monthly at its phase-one facility of the plant.

Samsung's Xi'an plant will be key determining its pricing strategy as a substantial output ramp-up at the fab will help lower the vendor's overall production costs significantly, the sources believe. The vendor's capability of more than doubling its output at the fab will also make a positive contribution to its further market leadership.

Besides, Samsung's decision to incorporate its double-stack technology into its 176-layer 3D NAND manufacturing processes could speed up its transition to the 200-plus-layer generation and help widen its technological lead over competitors, the sources said.

Japan's Kioxia (formerly Toshia Memory) has again postponed its planned IPO. The company "was aiming to IPO at the appropriate time," a Reuters report quoted a Kioxia spokesperson as saying.

Nevertheless, Kioxia could be among the beneficiaries of the Japan government's planned JPY774 billion (US$6.8 billion) in funding for domestic semiconductor investment, according to industry sources. Government subsidies may help Kioxia carry out its expansion project in Kitakami, Iwate Prefecture where a new K2 fab will be establish. Kioxia operates K1, a 3D NAND flash fab, at the site.

Kioxia has not disclosed plans for its transition to 200-plus-layer 3D NAND process manufacturing, but has announced its joint development with Western Digital of 162-layer 3D NAND. Market watchers expect Kioxia to have 162-layer 3D NAND manufacturing process as its mainstream between 2022 and 2023.

SK Hynix is expected to put increased focus on enterprise storage applications after completing its acquisition of Intel's NAND memory and storage business at the end of 2021, according to industry sources. Intel has reportedly adopted double-stack method in its 3D NAND flash manufacturing, which will advance to 196 layers in 2023, the sources said.

Micron earlier in January 2022 announced it had kicked off volume shipments of what the company claims is the industry's first 176-layer QLC NAND SSDs. The US vendor said previously it would be striving to capture a larger share of the overall industry's profit pool rather than growth in its share of industry production volume.

China's Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC), despite its late entry into the NAND flash market, is making progress in improving its manufacturing yield rates for 128-layer 3D NAND flash. YMTC has boosted yield rates for 64-layer 3D NAND flash manufacturing to mature levels, according to industry sources in China.

YMTC is on track to meet its goal of scaling up monthly output to 100,000 wafers in the first half of 2022, the sources said. The chipmaker is striving to enter the supply chain of China's first-tier brand vendors and extend its target markets to include handset and PC applications.

According to ChinaFlashMarket, the global NAND flash market will rise at a CAGR of 30% from 2020 to 2025, while the datacenter segment will grow by a larger 39% CAGR over the five years.

By: DocMemory
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