Samsung Electronics head of Flash tech, SungHoi Hur said: “We are thrilled to introduce the industry's inaugural 9th-gen V-NAND, which will propel future applications significantly forward. To cater to the changing demands for NAND flash solutions, Samsung has ventured into new territory in cell architecture and operational schemes for our forthcoming product."

"With our most recent V-NAND, Samsung will persist in leading the high-performance, high-density solid-state drive (SSD) market that caters to the forthcoming AI era."

Boasting the industry's most diminutive cell size and slimmest mould, Samsung has increased the bit density of the 9th-generation V-NAND by approximately 50 per cent compared to the 8th-generation V-NAND. Other advancements, including cell interference circumvention and cell lifespan augmentation, have been implemented to bolster product quality and dependability, while the removal of dummy channel holes has markedly diminished the planar area of the memory cells.

 Samsung's "channel hole etching" technology aims to engender electron pathways by piling mould layers. It optimises fabrication productivity as it facilitates concurrent drilling of the industry's most substantial cell layer count in a double-stack structure. With the increment in cell layers, the necessity to penetrate through greater cell numbers becomes crucial, necessitating more involved etching methods.

The 9th-generation V-NAND is outfitted with the forthcoming generation NAND flash interface, "Toggle 5.1," which bolsters data input/output velocities by 33 per cent to a maximum of 3.2 gigabits-per-second (Gbps). In conjunction with this interface, Samsung wants to consolidate its standing within the high-performance SSD market by broadening support for PCIe 5.0.

Energy consumption has also been ameliorated by 10 per cent with advancements in low-power design relative to the previous generation. As reducing energy use and carbon emissions becomes imperative for customers, Samsung's 9th-generation V-NAND is anticipated to be a quintessential solution for prospective applications.

Samsung has initiated mass production for the 1Tb TLC 9th-generation V-NAND this month, with the quad-level cell (QLC) model set to follow in the latter half of this year.