SK Hynix is expected to begin mass production of its 375-Layer NAND Flash solution by the end of 2026, offering higher storage capacities.
SK Hynix Goes For 375-Layer NAND This Year & 480/604-Layer Follow-Ups In The Years Ahead
SK Hynix and Samsung are in the race to reach the highest number of layers in the NAND Flash segment. While Samsung is aiming beyond 400-layers with dual stacking solutions going up to 1000-layers, Hynix will soon be commencing mass production on its 375-Layer NAND.
As per sources of The Elec, it is reported that SK Hynix has completed the verification of its 375-layer NAND solution and will soon be pushing the solution for mass production within its fabs. The mass production will be taking place within existing fabs, which will be converted to support the new NAND processes. Currently, these fabs are making 321-layer V9 NAND Flash solutions and more.
It is mentioned that SK Hynix internally labeled the 375-Layer NAND as "400-Layer". The decision to cut off the excess layers was made due to obstacles encountered when stacking a large number of layers in the chip together. SK Hynix is working on future products such as 480-Layer and 604-Layer NAND, but those will require a different approach.
"Products once described as 400-layer-class NAND were revised to 375 layers," an industry source said. "The roadmap then extends to 480-layer and 604-layer products."
The Elec
This approach involves replacing the current Tungsten film with Molybdenum. The new materials will help bypass the signal transmission issues that are encountered using Tungsten, as it can't sustain high electric resistance as the wiring bonds become narrower. Molybdenum offers better resistance & is already in use by Samsung. Samsung is also expected to optimize its NAND processes this year with the first 400-Layer V-NAND products.
The rise in storage demand will also mean that NAND makers are expected to see big revenues. But at the same time, they have a lot of materials to purchase to begin volume production. Molybdenum will see a sharp rise in demand. Samsung purchased 4 tons of the material last year, and 10 tons for this year so far, while SK Hynix is expected to consume around 4 tons. The overall demand is expected to rise to 25 tons in 2027, 40 tons in 2028, 60 tons in 2029, and a massive 80 tons by 2030.
About the author: A Software Engineer by training and a PC enthusiast by passion, Hassan Mujtaba serves as Wccftech's Senior Editor for hardware section. With years of experience in the industry, he specializes in deep-dive technical analysis of next-generation CPU and GPU architectures, motherboards, and cooling solutions. His work involves not only breaking news on upcoming technologies but also extensive hands-on reviews and benchmarking.
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