Flash technology boosts single-chip memory capacity to high levels

Toshiba Memory Europe has developed a prototype sample of a 96-layer BiCS FLASHTM, memory device using its proprietary 3D flash quad level cell technology that boosts single-chip memory capacity to the highest level yet achieved. QLC technology is pushing the bit count for data per memory cell from three to four, significantly increasing capacity. The new product delivers the industry's maximum capacity of 1.33 terabits for a single chip and was jointly developed with Western Digital Corporation. This also achieves an unparalleled capacity of 2.66 terabytes in a single package by utilising a 16-chip stacked architecture. The huge volumes of data created by mobile terminals and the like continue to grow with the spread of SNS and the progress in IoT, and the demand for analysing and utilising that data in real time is anticipated to increase dramatically. This will need even faster HDDs and bigger capacity storage and such QLC-based products, using the 96-layer process, will add to the solution.