SK Hynix Achieves World's First Mass Production of 321-Layer NAND... Customer Supply Scheduled for First Half of Next Year

Breaking Stacking Limits by Introducing the '3-Plug' Process
"Leaping Forward as a 'Full-Stack AI Memory Provider'"

SK Hynix announced on the 21st that it has started mass production of the world's highest-layer 321-layer 1Tb (terabit) TLC (Triple Level Cell, recording 3 bits of data per cell) 4D NAND flash. This is the industry's first NAND flash with over 300 layers, surpassing the previous highest-layer product of 238 layers. It is being recognized as another breakthrough in memory technology limits.

The new 321-layer product offers a 12% increase in data transfer speed and a 13% improvement in read performance compared to the previous generation. It also enhances data read power efficiency by more than 10%, strengthening both performance and energy efficiency simultaneously.

SK Hynix stated, "We have been supplying the market with the previous generation's highest-layer NAND, the 238-layer product, since June last year, and this time we are the first to introduce NAND with over 300 layers. Starting from the first half of next year, we will supply the 321-layer product to our customers to meet market demands."

The world's tallest 321-layer NAND new product that SK Hynix has started mass production of. Provided by SK Hynix

During the development of the 321-layer product, SK Hynix introduced the '3-Plug' process technology. This technology electrically connects each layer stacked through three plug processes, overcoming stacking limitations and improving production efficiency.

They developed low stress materials to reduce deformation within the plugs and enhanced precision through automatic alignment correction technology between plugs. A plug refers to the vertical hole made to form cells at once after stacking multiple layers of substrates.

Additionally, SK Hynix applied the development platform of the previous generation 238-layer NAND to the 321-layer product, minimizing process changes while successfully increasing productivity by 59%.

SK Hynix plans to expand the application range by targeting AI data centers and high-performance storage markets with the 321-layer NAND.

Choi Jung-dal, Vice President in charge of NAND development at SK Hynix, said, "By being the first to start mass production of NAND with over 300 layers, we have gained a favorable position to target the AI storage device market, including solid-state drives (SSD) for AI data centers and on-device AI."

He added, "Through this, we will leap forward as a 'Full Stack AI Memory Provider' with a perfect portfolio of ultra-high-performance memory not only in DRAM, represented by High Bandwidth Memory (HBM), but also in NAND."

The world's tallest 321-layer NAND new product that SK Hynix has started mass production of. Provided by SK Hynix