The 232-layer TLC NAND has started to be shipped, according to Micron. The fastest SSDs now available, including those sold under the Crucial brand by Micron, will undoubtedly use the new NAND. The new NAND offers a 100% increase in write bandwidth, a more than 75% increase in reading bandwidth, a 50% increase in transfer rate, and a 28% reduction in package size. This indicates that these cutting-edge NAND dies are smaller, faster, and denser than anything else on the market, according to Micron (via Digitimes). They are appropriate for a wide range of applications, including data centers and high-end consumer SSDs. According to Scott DeBoer, executive vice president of technology and products at Micron, “Micron’s 232-layer NAND marks a watershed moment for storage innovation as the first proof of the capability to scale 3D NAND to more than 200 layers in production.” This innovative technology needed a lot of innovation, including cutting-edge design improvements that were built on our industry-leading 176-layer NAND technology, novel materials breakthroughs, and enhanced process capabilities to achieve high aspect ratio structures.
Although high-performance and enterprise devices will be the first to hit the market, future drives with greater capacity and lower costs should be made possible by the new NAND’s enhanced density. Enterprise SSDs with capacities of over 100TB will be achievable because of the capacity to squeeze more chips into a given form factor, while drives in the 4TB+ range should be affordable for most consumers on the consumer market. There are still concerns regarding durability and dependability despite all the positive news and possibilities. The endurance ratings, which are significant for the enterprise sector but less significant for the mainstream and gaming markets, where reads are prioritized overwrites, have gone unmentioned by Micron.
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Though not right away, we can anticipate that this NAND will be utilized in the next PCIe 5.0 SSDs. However, future drives with the Phison PS5026-E26 controller will undoubtedly use 232-layer NAND. Western Digital and Samsung will continue to use their proprietary NAND. Micron 176-layer NAND is found in several of the greatest PCIe 4.0 drives, including the outstanding Seagate Barracuda 530 and Silicon Power XS70, among others. It makes sense to believe that manufacturers will select the highest-quality parts available.