Samsung begins mass-producing 9th-gen QLC NAND memory

Samsungs 9th gen QLC V-NAND memory chips

Samsung has started mass production of new QLC V-NAND chips for the next-generation high-capacity SSD. In the official blog, the manufacturer claims its 9th-generation QLC V-NAND combines "several breakthrough technologies" for the AI Era and boasts multiple improvements for increased density, bigger capacity, higher speed, and lower energy consumption.

The new 1Tb quad-level cell (QLC) V-NAND chips follow the 9th-gen TLC V-NAND memory that Samsung started producing in April 2024. According to Samsung, the new QLC chips will "address the needs for the AI era," especially in the enterprise SSD market. SungHoi Hur, Executive IP of Flash Product & Technology at Samsung, said the following about the launch of the company's next-gen QLC V-NAND memory chips:

Kicking off the successful mass production of QLC 9th-generation V-NAND just four months after the TLC version allows us to offer a full lineup of advanced SSD solutions that address the needs for the AI era. As the enterprise SSD market shows rapid growth with stronger demand for AI applications, we will continue to solidify our leadership in the segment through our QLC and TLC 9th-generation V-NAND.

Thanks to Samsung's Channel Hole Etching technology, 9th-generation quad-level cells feature 86% higher density than previous-gen QLC V-NAND chips. Samsung also optimized cell characteristics across layers, resulting in an approximately 20% increase in data retention performance. Finally, chips operate at about 60% faster input/output speeds thanks to the Predictive Program technology that anticipates and controls memory cell state.

As for power consumption, a crucial characteristic for mobile devices, Samsung claims read and write energy consumption decreased by 30% read and 50% write, thanks to low-power design and voltage requirement reduction.

While the initial focus is on the enterprise market, Samsung also plans to expand the application of 9th-gen QLC V-NAND memory chips to consumer products, such as high-capacity SSDs and UFS (Universal Flash Storage) for modern smartphones.