Intel and Micron Announce 20nm NAND Flash

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Even better SSDs on the way.

Intel's G3 SSDs may be the new hotness, but the company announced along with Micron that it has made a new, finer 20nm process technology for manufacturing NAND flash memory. The new 20nm process produces an 8 GB multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash device.

The new 20nm 8GB device measures just 118mm2 and enables a 30 to 40 percent reduction in board space (depending on package type) compared to the companies' existing 25nm 8GB NAND device. The new 20nm process maintains similar performance and endurance as the previous generation 25nm NAND technology.

A reduction in the flash storage layout provides greater system level efficiency as it enables tablet and smartphone manufacturers to use the extra space for end-product improvements such as a bigger battery, larger screen or adding another chip to handle new features.

The 20nm, 8GB device is sampling now and expected to enter mass production in the second half of 2011. At that time, Intel and Micron also expect to unveil samples of a 16GB device, creating up to 128GBs of capacity in a single solid-state storage solution that is smaller than a U.S. postage stamp.

Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
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13 Comments Comment from the forums
  • jkflipflop98
    Amazing.
    Reply
  • JerseyFirefighter
    Good, make the old ssd's cheaper plz.
    Reply
  • oneblackened
    Wow, right off AT, which they had a few days ago.
    Reply
  • scook9
    JerseyFirefighterGood, make the old ssd's cheaper plz.The old ones still cost more to make, do not get your hopes up
    Reply
  • trandoanhung1991
    They are more expensive to make, but then again they'll have to compete with the new generation products. That's when prices will go down.

    Same with basically every other electronic device, really.
    Reply
  • pelov
    trandoanhung1991They are more expensive to make, but then again they'll have to compete with the new generation products. That's when prices will go down.Same with basically every other electronic device, really.
    It's intel and they generally don't play by that rulebook, at least in their CPUs/Mobos.

    We've been uttering that same phrase for years now. Prices are still very high when it comes to SSDs. It'll take a while before we see prices drop significantly. =(
    Reply
  • Tom's is slipping I see this stuff pop up on gaming sites almost a week before.
    Reply
  • jerreddredd
    Great but not awesome. Awesome would be reducing the price 30-40% also.
    Reply
  • weatherdude
    Ahh miniaturization, will it never cease to amaze? Still though I don't see magnetic hard drives being being surpassed in the cost per gigabyte metric by SSD's in the future. That is of course only if HDD manufacturers continue to develop their technology...
    Reply
  • Sunburn74
    BillyDogThortonTom's is slipping I see this stuff pop up on gaming sites almost a week before.
    Not really. Considering that the latest generation of SSDs are going for about $1.75 a gig, and older generations for even less (agility level drives go for about $1 a gig) prices have definitely dropped significantly.

    Here's something to chew on: when the intel x-25m g1 80gb was first released, it sold at $600 a drive. I bought my X-25m g1 80gb for $175 2 years ago. The current price is even cheaper if you look around.
    Reply