Intel, Micron team for 3-bit-per-cell MLC NAND

The partners leverage a 34-nm NAND manufacturing process to deliver 32-Gb density in a 126-mm² chip. An analyst notes that Intel and Micron are not alone in the 3-bit-per-cell MLC NAND market and says manufacturers with the lowest cost structure are in a position to profit.

By Suzanne Deffree, Managing Editor, News -- Electronic News, 8/11/2009

Intel Corp and Micron Technology Inc today announced the development of a new 3-bit-per-cell (3bpc) MLC (multi-level cell) NAND technology that leverages their 34-nm NAND process.

The partners are working through their IM Flash Technologies NAND flash joint venture, which will design and manufacture the 32-Gb 3bpc NAND chip at 126-mm².

Micron is currently sampling the technology and plans to be in mass production in Q4. No price point was given for the chip in the companies' joint announcement made this morning.

“We see 3bpc NAND technology as an important piece of our roadmap,” said Brian Shirley, VP of Micron’s memory group, in the statement. “We also continue to move forward on further shrinks in NAND that will provide our customers with a world-leading portfolio of products for many years to come. Today’s announcement further highlights that Micron and Intel have made great strides in 34-nanometer NAND, and we look forward to introducing our 2xnm technology later this year.”

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Jim Handy, an analyst at Objective Analysis, noted that the NAND market has seen extreme price cuts, allowing the memory to grow faster than any market in the history of semiconductors. According to the veteran industry watcher, the higher-than-average costs decline has been supported by the migration of NAND from SLC (single-level cell) to MLC, a one-time event. 

"Now the technology is moving to 3 bits per cell, another accelerator for price declines," he said in a research note focused on the announcement this morning. "Manufacturers who have the lowest cost structure are in a position to profit at prices that would cause losses to their competition. The Micron-Intel device is a move in that direction."

Still, Intel and Micron are not the only companies with this type of technology. "SanDisk and Toshiba announced a similar product in January, with projections of shipments in the third quarter, although SanDisk's most recent teleconference indicates that the [joint venture's] 32-nm 3-bit chip is now expected to begin to ship at the end of the year. Even so, this implies that Micron and Intel don't necessarily have a sustainable lead," Handy said.

Handy further noted that the Intel-Micron chip is not for all markets. "Just as SLC NAND was once thought to be poorly suited to SSDs, then poorly suited to enterprise SSDs, this chip, with a very low endurance level, is currently being promoted by the companies as a device well suited to USB flash drives and flash cards for cameras and cell phones, but the companies explained that they need more experience in production volumes before they will be confident to position it as a chip suitable for the high-write environment of the SSD," he said.

Objective Analysis said it expects the Intel/Micron chip to "cause snags" for the other vendors in the market, noting Samsung and Hynix/Numonyx. "By the first part of 2010 manufacturers with 3-bit 3xnm product will be impressively more profitable than their competition," Handy said. "The NAND market continues to be a tough battlefield, and the clear advantage falls to those with the most cost-effective technology."