IM Flash Technologies Begin Mass Manufacture Of 34nm Flash Memories
November 30, 2008 by Sanjay · Leave a Comment
Lehi, Utah-based IM Flash Technologies, a joint-venture between Intel Corporation and Micron Technology Inc. announced the launch of the manufacturing process for mass production of 34nm NAND flash memory chips. The production has begun at the company’s Lehi facility in Utah. The company also has a manufacturing unit in Singapore.
The 34nm, 32Gbit multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash memory device is targeted at computing devices with small form factors. The chip itself measures 172sqmm which is smaller than the thumbnail. Stacks of these chips can build capacities of more than 256Gb in machines with form factor of 1.8inch and less.
The breakthrough technology is expected to further drive the integration of solid state drives (SSDs) in existing computers, as users find SSDs faster, less noisy and more reliable than traditional hard disk drives. These chips are being manufactured on 300mm wafers, with each wafer capable of holding 1.6 terabytes of information. A 32Gb chip therefore can store more than 2,000 of hi-res digital photos in a camera, or 1,000 songs on a personal music player like an iPod. Digital camcorder vendors can pack in two 8-die stacked packages of these chips and come out with a video device that they can then claim records between eight and forty hours of footage.
