Flash memory's density surpasses hard drives for first time

NAND flash memory has surpassed hard disk drive (HDD) technology in areal density for the first time, according to a new report from a market research firm.

During a presentation at the 2016 IEEE International Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) in San Francisco last week, Micron shared data showing NAND flash has moved past HDDs in areal density, according to Coughlin Associates.

At last year's ISSCC, Samsung white papers indicated that its 3D NAND flash products had reached 1.19Tbits per square inch (Tbpsi) and said in 2016 they would reach 1.69Tbpsi.

This year, Micron revealed it had demonstrated areal densities in its laboratories of up to 2.77Tbpsi for its 3D NAND. That compares with the densest HDDs of about 1.3Tbpsi. Tom Coughlin, Coughlin Associates president, noted the flash advancements in a column in Forbes.com last week.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here