Whether through your smartphone gallery, video calling app or social media network, these heartwarming moments of reminiscence are made possible by the NAND flash memory¹ solutions used in today’s smartphones and data centers.

Aside from its technical definition, we can view NAND flash as that which makes it possible to record and save so many special moments. We at Samsung Electronics are working non-stop to provide consumers with the certainty that their most valuable communications will be around indefinitely, and as a technician responsible for the continued advancement of NAND flash in the semiconductor industry, I’d like to share some of these efforts with you.

Pioneering the Era of the Uncharted 3-Dimensional (3D) Vertical Structure

If we were to view the history of the universe as one year, the existence of the human species falls stunningly short of 14 seconds before the end of this year. With more than 170 billion known galaxies constantly expanding, our Sun and the Earth are by no means at the center of our universe’s development. This same analogy can be applied to semiconductors.

If you look at a semiconductor chip smaller than the size of a fingernail through an electron microscope, there lies an entire miniature universe. Despite its thickness of just 1mm, millions of carefully constructed spaces exist within a chip in order to store huge amounts of data.

For many years, NAND flash memory solutions designed to store data featured a two-dimensional (2D) structure, where chips were scaled and laid onto flat surfaces. But these 2D structures had significant limitations in terms of the amount of data that could be stored.

After extensive research to mitigate this issue, Samsung pioneered its V-NAND (with the ‘V’ standing for vertical) flash memory, a solution that connects its cell layers through pierced holes in vertically-stacked 3D space. Samsung is the first company in the world to develop and commercialize such a memory solution.

This 3D V-NAND debuted in 2013, creating an entirely new paradigm for memory semiconductor as compared with the conventional 2D structure that had dominated the world of electronic storage for decades. The technical transformation that it enabled can be compared to the experience of people used to living in 1- or 2-story houses moving into high-rise apartments for the first time.

V-NAND: Representing Samsung’s Mastery of the Semiconductor Solution

These days the V-NAND solution, with its revolutionary vertical 3D structure, has become an industry standard since its groundbreaking introduction.

Back in 2013, the first V-NAND solution developed by Samsung featured 24 layers — but these days it has evolved to almost 200, a number that continues to grow. However, much like with high-rise apartments, simply stacking more layers on top of one another is not everything.

An apartment should be tall but also sturdy, and easily accessible via a secure and efficient elevator as the height of the building increases. What’s more, consideration of noise levels between floors must be made, and due to altitude restrictions, a building’s height is far from limitless.

The same goes for V-NAND solution. Even if the number of layers is similar, a closer look reveals minute differences in functionality and structure. In the world of semiconductors, this can be of the utmost importance as even the smallest difference leads to a tremendously different outcome.

Introducing the Industry’s Smallest Cell, Made Possible by Single-Stack Etching Technology

Let’s go back for a minute or two to 2013.

In order to overcome the limitations of a semiconductor’s planar 2D structure, Samsung developed a product that stacks up cells–in three dimensions. At that time, since the structure did not feature many layers, there was no immediate need to consider the product’s height. However, as the number of layers grew to meet increasing demand for highly-integrated, high-capacity solutions, Samsung engineers had to consider the physical limitations that arose around the product’s height.

Samsung contemplated and began to design solutions for the impending problem of V-NAND height before any other player in the semiconductor industry. The company’s 176-layer 7^th generation V-NAND is similar in height to the industry’s 6^th generation, 100+ layer V-NAND, an innovation made possible thanks to our successful development of the industry’s smallest cell size yet.

Samsung managed to reduce the cell volume up to 35% by decreasing both its surface area and height through highly innovative 3D scaling technology. Any interference between cells that might occur during such a reduction was also controlled. This enables Samsung to stack more layers at lower heights, giving the company an edge in overcoming the anticipated limitations of height.

Samsung is the only one in the industry possessing single-stack etching technology capable of stacking over 100 layers at once and interconnected through more than a billion holes. Leveraging ultra-small cell size and the company’s proprietary single-stack etching technology, Samsung is in an unparalleled position to deliver V-NAND solutions made with several hundred cell layers.

Looking Ahead: Revolutionary 7^th and 8^th Generation V-NAND Solutions

In the second half of this year, Samsung is set to showcase a consumer solid-state drive (SSD) product based on its 7^th generation V-NAND chip, a solution with the smallest cell size yet in the industry. This 7^th generation V-NAND solution is expected to meet the performance requirements of both the 4^th generation PCIe interface (PCIe Gen 4) and, later the 5^th generation (PCIe Gen 5), thanks to its maximum input-output (I/O) of 2.0 gigabits per second (Gbps). Furthermore, the company’s solution will be optimized for multitasking huge workloads, such as simultaneous 3D modeling and video editing.

Samsung is also planning to expand the use of its 7^th generation V-NAND to data center SSDs. Furthermore, in order to encourage companies running data centers to reduce power consumption, Samsung’s low-power solution can help raise power efficiency by 16% over that of its 6^th generation solution.

The company has already secured a working chip of its 8^th generation V-NAND solution featuring over 200 layers and plans to introduce it to the market in accordance with consumer demand.

The Future of Samsung’s V-NAND: Aiming for Over 1,000 Layers

In the semiconductor industry, nothing happens by chance. Pioneering a previously-unknown technology requires not only time, but also a tremendous amount of capital and investment. Samsung has managed to become the world leader in the semiconductor industry in the face of setbacks and other challenges by maintaining the passion, commitment and the sense of duty that allows us to realize a better life for all of those necessary to bring about such innovation.

Just like how the first V-NAND was introduced in 2013 after more than 10 years of research, the company will be the first to overcome the height limit that will come about one day, through our use of 3D scaling technology. Even further down the line, when Samsung’s V-NAND solutions have evolved to feature over 1,000 layers, the company will continue to ensure that its memory solutions offer the industry’s highest reliability.

A New Paradigm of Extended Reality Will Extend the Role of Semiconductors

The world is shifting to a new paradigm of extended reality (XR) thanks to the rapid advancement of technology. In fact, due to the pandemic, the time when XR is set to become a part of all our daily lives has been advanced considerably. The era in which daily lifestyles include an overlap between reality and cyber space draws ever nearer. Moreover, the refinement of IT devices and technologies will require an entirely new approach that will be completely different from anything previously seen—and the role of semiconductors will become more important than ever before.

Unquestionably, Samsung will continue to work to enable a better society by introducing innovative semiconductor products based on robust technological advancements. This will happen so you can rest assured that the precious memories stored on your electronic devices will be around for a very long time to come.

¹ Non-volatile memory semiconductors that retain stored data even when the power is switched off.

Samsung Electronics, the world leader in advanced memory technology, today announced plans to expand its NAND flash production capacity in Pyeongtaek, Korea, reinforcing the company’s ability to meet demands from emerging technologies. Construction, which began this May, will pave the way for mass production of Samsung’s cutting-edge V-NAND memory in the second half of 2021.

“The new investment reaffirms our commitment to sustain undisputed leadership in memory technologies, even in uncertain times,” said Cheol Choi, executive vice president of Memory Global Sales & Marketing at Samsung Electronics. “We will continue to serve the market with the most optimized solutions available, while contributing to growth of the overall IT industry and the economy in general.”

In the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution fueled by artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and 5G expansion, the added capacity will play a major role in helping to address mid- to long-term demands for NAND flash memory. As digital lifestyles become more prevalent, Samsung will continue to be proactive in making new investments in order to seize future market opportunities.

Samsung’s NAND flash production network extends from Hwaseong and Pyeongtaek in Korea to Xi’an, China. Established in 2015, Samsung’s Pyeongtaek Campus is a hub for next-generation memory technologies, consisting of two of the world’s largest-scale production lines.

Leveraging its significant edge in manufacturing and technology, Samsung has held the leadership position in NAND flash memory for the past 18 years, with one recent innovation being the industry-first sixth-generation (1xx-layer) V-NAND introduced last July. Through balanced investment across its global sites, Samsung aims to maintain a robust production network that will further cement its market leadership.

Reference: Samsung V-NAND Mass Production Timeline

Samsung Electronics announced today that it has maintained the number six rank in Interbrand’s “Best Global Brands 2019” list with a brand value of $61.1 billion – achieving a two percent increase in brand value.

Major factors that played a critical role in Samsung’s growth were:

• Continuous launches of innovative products that suit consumers’ new lifestyle, trends, and needs including the BESPOKE refrigerator, Sero TV, and Galaxy Fold

• Strong growth potential based on future innovation technologies including 5G, AI, IoT and the automotive business

• Global number one position in the semiconductor memory market and technology leadership in the industry

Samsung’s mobile business has kept up with successful launches in the Galaxy series. The company led the industry in the foldable smartphones category by launching Galaxy Fold, and continued its effort in resonating with consumers with Samsung’s brand story “Do What You Can’t”. Its visual display business, a market leader for 13 consecutive years, not only provided new viewing experiences for consumers through QLED 8K and MicroLED displays, but also further reflected consumers’ lifestyles by introducing The Sero, The Frame and The Serif. In digital appliances, Samsung has maintained its premium market leadership position in both refrigerators and washing machines and went on to release innovative new products with differentiated consumer benefits such as BESPOKE.

Spearheading advanced 5G technology, Samsung launched its first 5G smartphone. Its 5G technology also assumes a significant role in making AI and IoT more tangible and realizable. It has also accelerated the autonomous vehicle era with its incomparable speed.

Samsung’s semiconductor memory business reinforced its market presence this year by beginning mass production of the industry’s first 12-gigabit (Gb) LPDDR5 mobile DRAM and its sixth-generation V-NAND which features the industry’s first 100+ layer single-stack design. Furthermore, Samsung has been continuously investing in R&D and expanding production facilities in the system semiconductor field.

Samsung’s market leadership and investment in innovation also contributed to this year’s successful evaluation. The company’s investments were not limited to in-house R&D, but also included efforts to expand its product ecosystem through strategic partnerships, as well as investment in startups that have cultivated new business opportunities in a variety of fields, including the automotive industry.

“We are excited that our constant efforts to provide meaningful innovations that delight consumers and help them live better lives have been well received,” said YH Lee, CMO of Samsung Electronics. “To further enhance our brand, we will continue to listen and learn from our consumers as well as lead changes in society through innovation, so that we can all thrive together.”

Following this year’s announcement of Interbrand’s Best Global Brands, the Best Global Brands summit will be held in New York City on October 23.

Samsung Electronics’ Growth in Brand Value