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Intel, Micron develop cheaper high-capacity flash technology
By siliconindia
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Wednesday, 12 August 2009, 21:56 IST |
1 Comments
Bangalore: In a bid to overtake its rival AMD in the chip manufacturing race, Intel has partnered with Micron Technology for developing NAND flash chips with enhanced data capacity. Dubbed as 3-bits-per-cell (bpc) technology, it is a level above the currently available 2bpc flash chips.
NAND Flash chips help in storage of data in consumer devices like mobile phones, music players, digital camera and USB drives. The process of manufacturing storage with more bpc also decreases the cost per flash bit so that the 12GB USB drive would be roughly equivalent in cost to the 2bpc 8GB flash drive. Pay less, get more.
The 3bpc technology is a 50 percent increase from the standard 2bpc, which translates into an 8GB USB flash drive built to store 12GB of data without an increase in its size. "The move to 3bpc is yet another proof point to the remarkable progress Intel and Micron have made in 34-nm NAND development," said Randy Wilhelm, Vice President and General Manager of Intel's NAND Solutions Group.
The NAND flash chip was built using the companies' 34-nanometer (nm) manufacturing process, which produces 3bpc. The new product, designed and manufactured by IM Flash Technology, the joint venture between the two chip makers, is targeted at manufacturers of flash cards, USB drives, and other devices.
Though, the development of this latest flash technology puts Intel one place ahead of AMD in the race, there is something for Intel to ponder. Earlier this year, SanDisk and Toshiba had unveiled a 64GB NAND flash device with 4bpc technology. The two companies used 43nm fabrication process to make the chips, therefore, it is unclear whether the flash devices unveiled by Intel and Micron are more cost-effective than the flash devices developed by SanDisk and Toshiba.
