Intel-Micron JV debuts high-speed NAND chip

Feb. 2, 2008 – Intel and Micron say they have jointly developed (through their “IM Flash” JV) a NAND flash chip that reads/writes data 5x faster than conventional NAND flash chips.

The 8Gb single-level cell chip, designed with 50nm process technologies, sports read and write speeds of 200MB/s and up to 100MB/s, respectively, vs.40Mb/s and <20MB/s for conventional SLC NAND. It leverages the ONFI 2.0 specification and a four-plane architecture, according to the companies.

In a statement, the companies explained various benefits of high-speed NAND — e.g., 2-4x faster data read/write speeds in hybrid hard drives vs. conventional hard drives, and 5x faster transfe of high-def movies in digital video cameras and video-on-demand services. Also, high-speed NAND will better support the new USB 3.0 interface that aims to achieve 10x bandwidth of USB 2.0, or 4.8GB/s.

The new high-speed NAND flash technology “will enable new embedded solutions and removable solutions that take advantage of high-performance system interfaces, including PCIe and upcoming standards such as USB 3.0,” stated Pete Hazen, director of marketing, Intel NAND products group.

Samples are now at OEMs and controller manufacturers, with Intel and Micron “working with an ecosystem of key enablers and partners to build and optimize corresponding system technologies that take advantage of its improved performance capabilities,” said Frankie Roohparvar, Micron VP of NAND development. Mass production is slated for 2H08.

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