Western Digital Corp. announced that it has successfully developed its fifth-generation 3D NAND technology, BiCS5, which is 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.
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. 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.
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.
