Micron NAND Reaches 16nm

Die Photo of Micron 16nm 128Gb NAND chipMicron has announced that it is sampling a new 128Gb NAND flash chip based upon a 16nm process, with production slated for the fourth quarter.  To The Memory Guy’s knowledge this is the tightest process available.

The company, with its partner Intel, gained a lead with its 20nm process generation through its use of a Hi-k tunnel dielectric, a new material that replaces more conventional silicon dioxide layer with a new material (Micron won’t say what) that yields the same capacitance with a thinner layer.  This has become very important with today’s tight processes because of issues of inter-cell interference.

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