Wednesday, 2 May 2007

Samsung Makes 2GB Flash

Samsung said the new chips would increase competition in the flash market and also maintain the pressure that has seen chip prices fall by more than half over the last one year....

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has started making 2 GB flash memory chips that not just holds more data and but also works at higher speeds than other chips.

Samsung said the new chips would increase competition in the already cut throat flash market and also maintain the pressure that has seen chip prices fall by more than half over the last one year.

Due to its ability to hold its contents even after power has been cut off or power is disrupted, flash memory is now being increasingly used in a range of electronic devices such as digital music players and cameras for data storage.

Meanwhile Samsung has said that it has also started volume production of 16 GB MLC NAND flash at the 51nm node. This comes barely eight months after entering production at the 60nm node.

"In rolling out the densest NAND flash in the world, we are throwing open the gates to a much wider playing field for flash-driven consumer electronics," said Jim Elliott, director, flash marketing, Samsung Semiconductor. "To minimise production costs and improve performance, we have applied the finest process technology a ‘half generation' ahead of the industry, which is introducing 55nm and higher."

Samsung claims its 51nm NAND flash chips are 60 per cent more efficient than those produced with its 60nm process technology.