According to Korean media The Elec news, Samsung will accelerate the 3D NAND stacking process, is discussing the expected 2025-2026 mass production of the tenth generation of V-NAND stacking layer jump to 430 layers level.
Samsung previously announced the development of 1,000-layer V-NAND flash memory by 2030, while the outline of the next-generation V-NAND roadmap is also emerging.
The ninth generation of V-NAND, which Samsung plans to mass produce in 2024, will reportedly be in the 280-layer 3D NAND range. For the 10th generation V-NAND, scheduled for volume production in 2025-2026, Samsung is discussing skipping 300 layers and going directly to 430 layers.
According to the analysis, the specific work is gradually progressing in accordance with the goal of developing 1,000 layers of V-NAND by 2030. It has also been observed that the implementation of the “super gap strategy” emphasized by Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong is accelerating.
In addition, industry sources revealed that Samsung has developed a general roadmap for the number of V-NAND units such as the ninth and tenth generations, and is developing products from multiple angles.
V-NAND is a flash memory technology debuted by Samsung in 2013 that connects each layer by drilling holes in the three-dimensional space of a vertically stacked planar layer.
The first generation of V-NAND, which appeared in 2013, was 24 layers. This was followed by the second generation of 32 layers, the third generation of 48 layers, the fourth generation of 64 layers, the fifth generation of 92 layers, the sixth generation of 128 layers, and the seventh generation of 176 layers. Each generation took approximately one year to one year and six months of volume production.
Samsung announced in November 2022 the mass production of the eighth generation V-NAND with a 236-layer stack. The eighth generation of V-NAND is described as offering a 1Tb (128GB) solution, and Samsung Electronics has not disclosed the size or actual density of the IC, although they are calling it the highest bit density in the industry.
