Pushing to get ahead of rival Samsung in the NAND flash space, Toshiba today announced the industry's first multilevel cell NAND flash at 90 nanometers.

Toshiba America Electronics Components (TAEC) Inc. rolled out a 4-gigabit single-die multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash memory component. The company will also offer an 8-Gb that stacks two of the 4Gb devices in a single package.

"This is the first multi-level cell NAND flash being produced anywhere at 90 nm," said Brian Kumagai, business development manager for NAND flash products.  "This will be 8 times faster than the previous version."

The device also answers the never-ending call from consumers, according to Kumagai.

"This device is doubling what Toshiba was producing at 130 nm, which was 2Gb," he said. "Today's consumer devices are looking for more cost effective, higher density cards."

Toshiba will sample the 4Gb product this month and the 8Gb product next month. The ICs will be used in end-user devices such as USB drives, memory cards, cell phones, PDAs and other devices.

By taking the chip to 90nm, Toshiba now offers double the capacity of its previous generation single-die NAND flash. The company will continue to use the same package for the 4Gb device as it used with its 1Gb device on 130nm process technology.

The 8Gb device uses a single TSOP (Thin Small Outline Package). In Q3 the company will take the advance a step further, sampling a 16Gb NAND flash memory IC that stacks four of the 4Gb NAND flash memory dies in a single package.

NAND flash makers including Toshiba are happy to point out that most analyst organizations expect sales of NAND flash to overtake sales of NOR flash sometime in the next few years.

Toshiba developed the 4Gb device together with SanDisk Corp under their 1999 joint development agreement for NAND flash. The new chips will be made with the 90nm process technology at the NAND flash facility at Toshiba's Yokkaichi Operations in Japan. 

Toshiba also said that Yokkaichi will be the site of new 300mm wafer fab facility, with construction beginning this month. Mass production of NAND flash memory at the new 300mm fab is expected to start in the second half of 2005.

By: DocMemory
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