Samsung says it expects its new 32 gigabit (Gb) NAND flash chips to be used for implementing memory cards with capacities of up to 64 gigabytes (GB). Such cards, according to the company, could hold over 64 hours of DVD movies, or roughly 1,340 hours of MP3 audio.
CTFThe company describes Charge Trap Flash (CTF) -- which appears to be the subject of a
patent filing with the USPTO -- as a "surprisingly simple structure," and a "revolutionary new approach to further increase manufacturing efficiency while greatly improving performance." CTF enhances flash reliability by "sharply reducing inter-cell noise levels," the company adds.
According to Samsung, the control gate used in a CTF device is approximately 20 percent the size of the control gate of conventional floating gate flash structures. "With CTF, there is no floating gate," the company explains. "Instead, the data is temporarily placed in a 'holding chamber' of the non-conductive layer of the flash memory composed of silicon nitride (SiN). This results in a higher level of reliability and better control of the storage current."
As a result of these benefits, CTF will yield increased flash memory scalability, enabling the flash memory manufacturing process to evolve from the current 40 nanometer (nm) process to 30 nm, and eventually to 20 nm, according to the company.
Samsung says that its introduction of the 40 nm manufacturing process for 32 gigabit NAND flash marks the seventh generation of what it calls the "New Memory Growth Model" -- double density growth every 12 months. The growth pattern, reminiscent of
Moore's Law, was conceived by Dr. Chang Gyu Hwang, CEO of Samsung Electronics Semiconductor Business, Samsung says. Simply stated, Moore's law, articulated in 1965 by Intel co-founder Gordon Moore, states that chip transistor densities tend to double every two years.
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