Leading edge hi-tech memory

Demand for fast, low weight, size, power consumption and cost memory has grown at a compound 70% over the last few years. Fortunately the world’s leading suppliers have been able to decrease the size and hence speed and density of solid state memory. The theory of double-density memory growth every 12 months, floated by Dr. Chang Gyu Hwang, president and CEO of Samsung Electronics’ Semiconductor Business in 2002 (like Groves’ famous theory of transistor doubling) has so far been proved correct.

Last year Samsung announced on September 12th 2005 a 16 Gigabit (Gb) NAND density device using 50-nanometer technology.

The 16Gb density translates into 32-Gigabytes (GBs). This 32GB density translates into the ability to store either 200 years of an average daily newspaper, 8000 MP3 music files (680 hours) or 20 DVD resolution movies (32 hours of high resolution video footage) on a mobile device.

The NAND flash market has enjoyed a compounded annual growth rate of 70 % from 2001 through 2005.

Well keeping up with this doubling technology Samsung Electronics today announced the industry’s first 40-nanometer memory device. The new 32 Gigabit (Gb) NAND flash device is the first memory to incorporate a Charge Trap Flash (CTF) architecture, a new approach to further increase manufacturing efficiency while greatly improving performance and which will, by reducing inter-cell noise levels allow manufacturing using 30 and even 20nm traces.

This works by discarding the conventional control gate in a typical floating gate structure. With CTF, data is temporarily placed in a “holding chamber” of the non-conductive layer of the flash memory composed of silicon nitride (SiN).

The CTF design is enabled through the use of the proprietary Samsung TANOS structure was first revealed in 2003 and is comprised of tantalum (metal), aluminum oxide (high k material), nitride, oxide and silicon. The use of a TANOS structure marks the first application of a metal layer coupled with a high k material to the NAND device.

The 32Gb density translates into 64-Gigabytes (GBs) or over 64 hours of DVD resolution movies (40 movies) or 16,000 MP3 music files (1,340 hours - 10 weeks).

Samsungs mass market 8 GB device MOVI announced recently in July provides for 223 minutes of DVD film and id meant for mobile phones, camcorders or as a carrier for rental films – until broadband developments allow fast domestic DVD film downloading.

Devices such as this will provide massive storage facilities for 3/4th generation cell-phones that weigh ounces take colour pictures, colour videos with sound, act as GSP location / direction devices, with Intrent connectivity, e-mail, texting .....