There’s a shift in the memory tide, according to Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. semiconductor business’ president and CEO, Chang-Gyu Hwang.

In a speech today celebrating the company’s launch of 16Gbit NAND flash, Hwang said the semiconductor industry is at a major turning point in the use of memory for data storage, calling it a “flash rush.”

“The future of NAND is setting the stage for an irreversible shift in the design of digital end products as NAND becomes the key storage medium for data in virtually any portable form,” Hwang said at a press conference at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul, Korea.

Hwang credited the advancements in NAND and the memory’s supply and demand, as changing the way consumers and businesses use portable computer and electronics technology.

He compared the growing embrace of NAND technology for data storage applications to that of the Gold Rush of 1849, which transformed the value and importance of gold around the word almost overnight.

“NAND flash will eventually replace other storage mediums, especially those used in mobile products, creating a ‘flash rush,’ as NAND continues to register an unprecedented surge in demand as the backbone of the mobile electronics era,” the executive said.

NAND flash density has jumped from 256Mbits in 1999 to 8Gbits in 2004. Samsung further pointed out that NAND flash market has witnessed a compounded growth rate of 70 percent annually over the last four years. That growth speed, predicted Hwang, will trigger a ripple effect across the electronic industry that will result in increased portability, new design choices and more convergence in digital applications.
 
Samsung’s 16Gbit NAND flash revealed today was achieved with the industry’s first use of 50nm technology directly applicable to mass production processes and by using Samsung’s proprietary 3D-transistor architecture, the company said. Samsung plans to begin mass producing its 16Gbit NAND flash in the second half of 2006.

By: DocMemory
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