Intel & Micron Show 34-nm, 32-Gbit Flash Memory Chip

Lucas123 writes "IM Flash Technologies, a joint venture between Intel and Micron, announced it has developed a 32-gigabit NAND flash memory chip that is expected to enable the production of cheaper solid-state drives with twice the storage capacity of today's products. The 34-nanometer, multi-level chip is smaller than Intel's latest CPUs. Samples will be available in June with production by the end of the year."

Comments

The Price of Flash

[Jah-Wren Ryel]

FWIW, another article covering this same press-release noted that most flash costs $2.50/Mbit to manufacture, but this new stuff by Intel costs just under $1/Mbit to manufacture. So the rapid downward spiral of flash storage pricing should continue for at least the short term.

Re:The Price of Flash

[j1m 5n0w]

That doesn't sound right. Perhaps you mean $/Gbyte?

Re:The Price of Flash

[Kjella]

Probably this:

(...) Jim Handy, an analyst with Objective Analysis (...) "At a die size [they are using], the price of a 32Gb chip will be just shy of $4, which works out to about 99 cents/GB. The companies will be the first to break the $1/GB barrier with this product," Handy said. Today's NAND prices are hovering near $2.50 per gigabyte, Handy said. So an external analyst said thar, nor Intel/Micron. It sounds rather nice if you can get a good boot disk for 1$/GB+margins though. The bulk multimedia will probably still go on HDDs though, but I'd definately get one at those prices.

Re:Phirst Spot

[tirerim]

Because smaller is more energy efficient, which is useful on a number of levels: for one, it saves electricity, and it also means that the chips produce less heat, which lets them run better.

Re:A Bit Of Confusion With Flash Sizes

[SQL Error]

Multiple dies stacked in a single package. Very common in the flash business.