Intel, Micron With 3-bit Cell Technology

Mark McCrosky Flash Memory News, Solid State Memory

Intel and Micron are two of the primary NAND flash memory makers and are partners in such manufacturing.Â Earlier this month they announced new technology capable of 3-bit per cell storage which is based off 34-nanometer technology.

3-bit cell technology

The 3-bit per cell concept allows for more storage in the same realestat of flash memory.Â This imporvement yields larger storage capacity of flash drives and SSD at a lower price. However, the new technology doesn’t come without some draw backs.Â According to Kevin Kilbuck, Director of NAND marketing at Micron indicates the 3-bit per cell technology isn’t as stable as they’d like. For example, Kevin indicates the 3-bit per cell NAND technology will be found in less mission critical devices like USB flash drives, SD memory and CF memory.Â The technology will not find it’s way into SolidState Disks until the manufacturing process is perfected.

“The companies explained that they need more experience in production volumes before they will be confident to position it as a chip suitable for the high-write environment of the SSD”

You can expect the 3-bit per cell to hit the streets sometime in Q1 of 2010. However, as with most technology, it’s on the way out before it’s ever even in; SanDisk and Toshiba disclosed in February that they had developed 4-bit-per-cell technology, which the two companies said was the highest-capacity flash memory technology in the industry. Source: CNET News.

Tags: intel, micron, NAND flash

Trackback from your site.

Mark McCrosky

Kicking around in technology since 2002. I like to write about technology products and ideas, but at the consumer level understanding. Some tech, but not too techie. Posting on Quora.com as well.