Western Digital Extends Storage Leadership With BiCS5 3D NAND Technology
January 30 2020 - 4:05PM
Business Wire
Technology and Manufacturing Advancements
Enable New Approach to 3D NAND Scaling
Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC) today announced that it has
successfully developed its fifth-generation 3D NAND technology,
BiCS5, continuing the company’s leadership in delivering the
industry’s most advanced flash memory technologies. BiCS5, built on
triple-level-cell (TLC) and quad-level-cell (QLC) technologies,
delivers exceptional capacity, performance and reliability at a
compelling cost. This makes it ideal to address the exponential
growth of data associated with connected cars, mobile devices and
artificial intelligence.
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the full release here:
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WESTERN DIGITAL EXTENDS STORAGE
LEADERSHIP WITH BiCS5 3D NAND TECHNOLOGY (Photo: Business Wire)
Western Digital has commenced initial production of BiCS5 TLC in
a 512-gigabit (Gb) chip and is currently shipping consumer products
built on the new technology. Production of BiCS5 in meaningful
commercial volumes is expected in the second half of calendar 2020.
BiCS5 TLC and BiCS5 QLC will be available in a range of capacities,
including 1.33 terabit (Tb).***
“As we move into the next decade, a new approach to 3D NAND
scaling is critical to continuing to meet the demands of the rising
volume and velocity of data,” said Dr. Steve Paak, senior vice
president of memory technology and manufacturing at Western
Digital. “Our successful production of BiCS5 is an illustration of
Western Digital’s ongoing leadership in flash memory technology and
strong execution to our roadmap. By leveraging new advancements to
our multi-tier memory hole technology to increase density laterally
as well as adding more storage layers, we have significantly scaled
the capacity and performance of our 3D NAND technology, while
continuing to deliver the reliability and cost which our customers
expect.”
Built utilizing a wide range of new technology and manufacturing
innovations, BiCS5 is Western Digital’s highest density and most
advanced 3D NAND technology to date. Second-generation multi-tier
memory hole technology, improved engineering processes and other 3D
NAND cell enhancements significantly increase cell array density
horizontally across the wafer. These “lateral scaling” advancements
in combination with 112 layers of vertical memory capability
enables BiCS5 to offer up to 40 percent* more bits of storage
capacity per wafer compared to Western Digital’s 96-layer BiCS4
technology, while optimizing cost. New design enhancements also
accelerate performance, enabling BiCS5 to offer up to 50 percent
faster I/O performance compared to BiCS4.**
BiCS5 technology was developed jointly with technology and
manufacturing partner Kioxia Corporation. It will be manufactured
at the joint venture fabrication facilities in Yokkaichi in Mie
Prefecture, Japan and Kitakami City, Iwate Prefecture, Japan.
The introduction of BiCS5 technology builds on a full portfolio
of Western Digital 3D NAND technologies for use in data-centric
personal electronics, smartphones, IoT devices and data
centers.
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About Western Digital
Western Digital creates environments for data to thrive. As a
leader in data infrastructure, the company is driving the
innovation needed to help customers capture, preserve, access and
transform an ever-increasing diversity of data. Everywhere data
lives, from advanced data centers to mobile sensors to personal
devices, our industry-leading solutions deliver the possibilities
of data. Our data-centric solutions are comprised of the Western
Digital®, G-Technology™, SanDisk®, and WD® brands.
© 2020 Western Digital Corporation or its affiliates. All rights
reserved. Western Digital, the Western Digital logo, G-Technology,
SanDisk, and WD are registered trademarks or trademarks of Western
Digital Corporation or its affiliates in the US and/or other
countries. All other marks are the property of their respective
owners.
*Based on Western Digital BiCS4 and BiCS5 TLC lowest available
and expected-available capacity dies (256Gb and 512Gb die) **Based
on Western Digital internal testing of I/O performance in toggle
mode for select applications ***1 Terabit (Tb) = 1,000,000,000,000
bits
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains certain forward-looking statements,
including expectations for 3D NAND technology, including its
development, timing for initial output, commercial volume
production, product sampling and shipment, capabilities,
performance improvements, applications, capacities, Western
Digital’s position in NAND flash and execution to its technology
roadmap and operations at its joint venture manufacturing
facilities in Japan. There are a number of risks and uncertainties
that may cause these forward-looking statements to be inaccurate
including, among others: volatility in global economic conditions;
business conditions and growth in the storage ecosystem; impact of
competitive products and pricing; market acceptance and cost of
commodity materials and specialized product components; actions by
competitors; unexpected advances in competing technologies; our
development and introduction of products based on new technologies
and expansion into new data storage markets; risks associated with
acquisitions, divestitures, mergers and joint ventures;
difficulties or delays in manufacturing; and other risks and
uncertainties listed in the company's filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission, including the company's most recently
filed periodic report, to which your attention is directed. You
should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, and the company
undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements
to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200130005821/en/
Laura Bakken Media Relations: +1 408.801.7653
laura.bakken@wdc.com
Peter Andrew Investor Relations +1 949.672.9655
peter.andrew@wdc.com
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