Western Digital Unveils World’s First 2Tb 3D QLC NAND Flash, Designed For Performance & Efficiency
Western Digital Unveils World’s First 2Tb 3D QLC NAND Flash, Designed For Performance & Efficiency
Western Digital has showcased the world's first 2Tb 3D QLC NAND Flash at their recent investor's conference, setting a new industry benchmark.
WD's showcase of a new cutting-edge NAND flash memory chip was unexpected, and the firm took us by surprise by showcasing the first 2Tb 3D QLC NAND chip. The die is currently in its prototype stages, and the firm says that the NAND chip offers the highest density in the market and potentially faster performance compared to existing market technologies.
Interestingly, the firm revealed several data to back their claims as well, giving us an idea of what to expect with the markets once the new NAND flash memory chip drops into the market.
I am really excited to share with you a preview of the BiCS8 2Tb 3D QLC die. We have designed this die to meet the data center and AI storage needs. We are going to shortly announce this product, but I want to share it with you today. This happens to be the world's highest-capacity memory die.
- Robert Soderbery, Executive VP and GM of WD Flash Business
WD says that their newest NAND memory chip is specifically targeted towards AI and data center applications, and along with that, the firm believes in breaking the traditional barriers established in the storage industry. Diving a bit into specifics, the new 2Tb 3D QLC NAND utilizes the 218-layer BiCS8 node, which is built in collaboration with Kioxia, and it acts as a fundamental behind the capabilities present in the new NAND memory chip. According to Western Digital, with the 2Tb 3D QLC NAND chip, manufacturers can offer a 4TB storage capacity on a single 16-die package, and a 1TB configuration can be achieved through four flash memory chips only.
Diving into performance figures, Western Digital says that their new NAND chip offers 50% higher memory density than the previous generation, being ahead of competitors by 15% to 19%. Moreover, the NAND chip comes with 50% higher I/O performance speeds, all while consuming 13% less power.
Overall, the new 2Tb 3D QLC NAND chip will act as a breakthrough for the market since it will massively cater to the large-scale storage market. With the improved performance and efficiency numbers, adoption is imminent.
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