Samsung Electronics is set to begin mass production of its 9th generation V-NAND later this month, according to a Hankyung media report. The new generation of Samsung's 3D NAND memory will feature 290 active layers, which is hardly a significant increase from 236 layers, but this brings with it a substantial change in how these flash devices are made.
The report about 290-layer 9th Generation V-NAND contradicts Samsung's official plans to introduce 3D NAND memory with over 300 layers in 2024, so take the new information with a grain of salt. Meanwhile, it is possible that Samsung decided to reduce the number of active layers in its V-NAND memory to boost yields. Increasing yields at the cost of areal density may be a good way for Samsung to lower the costs of some of the best SSDs that it makes, particularly the drives for mainstream and low-cost systems.
