China-based Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) has quietly started shipments of 3D QLC NAND memory with 232 active layers, TechInsights has discovered. The new 3D NAND memory devices boast the industry's highest recording density of as well as extreme performance due to Xtacking 3.0 architecture.
YMTC's 1Tb 3D QLC NAND device has a recording density of 19.8 Gbit/mm2, which is the world's highest density for a commercial IC. In fact, even a 232-layer 3D TLC NAND chip from YMTC boasts a recording density of 15.47 Gbit/mm2, which is higher than competing offerings that are in mass production.
There is a substantial difference between the 3D QLC and 3D TLC NAND devices from YMTC: The former features a quad-plane design to optimize die size, whereas the latter features a six-plane design to maximize performance. Meanwhile, both ICs use Xtacking 3.0 architecture as well as a 2400 MT/s data transfer rate, so both could be used for the best SSDs featuring a PCIe 4.0 or PCIe 5.0 interface.
One interesting thing to note is that analysts from TechInsights discovered YMTC's 1Tb 3D QLC NAND devices in a ZhiTai Ti600 1TB solid state drive, which was quietly launched in July, 2023, and has been on the market since then. YMTC has been producing this memory for over a quarter now. Yet, it is unclear whether it can produce such memory in substantial quantities.
Producing such memory devices is a major achievement for YMTC, which is blacklisted by the U.S. government and cannot obtain leading-edge tools from American companies. Meanwhile, the company has managed to achieve the highest recording density with its 3D TLC NAND with 232 active layers, surpassing its rivalsprimarily due to its Xtacking 3.0 architecture that relies on hybrid bonding.
