Several chipmakers are developing new memory storage technologies that will change the way that data is stored. These are enhancements of NAND flash memory that can store information faster, in a smaller space, and with less power consumption than previous generations of product. Demand for more powerful and compact storage technology is growing as more and more information is being stored in the cloud and new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) programs and computer-assisted engineering (CAE) are becoming more prevalent.

Here’s a look at some recent developments in the memory and storage device markets.

Samsung Electronics, one of the leading developers of advanced memory technology, recently announced its fifth-generation V-NAND memory chips. The new V-NAND chips claim the fastest data transfers and the industry’s first use of the Toggle DDR4.0 interface. With data speeds as high as 1.4 gigabits per second (Gbits/s), the 256-Gbit V-NAND chips are 40% faster than the previous 64-layer product.

This increase in speed is not at the expense of energy efficiency, however. The V-NAND chips offer comparable efficiency to the previous 64-layer chips. Samsung accomplished this by lowering the operating voltage of the chips from 1.8 V to 1.2 V. The new chip also claims the fastest write speed, clocking in at 500 microseconds (µs). This improvement represents about a 30% increase over the previous generation. In addition, the response time to read signals has been reduced to 50 µs.

The secret to these new chips is in their structural design. Inside the V-NAND chips are more than 90 different layers of 3D charge trap flash (CTF) cells. The cells are arranged in a pyramid structure with tiny channel holes carved vertically throughout, said Samsung. The holes are only a few hundred nanometers wide, and within these holes are housed more than 85 CTF cells that can each store 3 bits of data.