PR97301

SEOUL, South Korea, Aug. 3, 2022 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

-World's first 238-layer 512Gb TLC 4D NAND developed in July; expected to begin

mass production in the first half of 2023

-Providing highest, smallest NAND product while remarkably improving

productivity, data transfer speed and power efficiency

-"Will continue innovations to find breakthroughs in technological challenges"

SK hynix Inc. (or "the company", www.skhynix.com) announced today that it has

developed the industry's highest 238-layer NAND Flash product.

The company has recently shipped samples of the 238-layer 512Gb triple level

cell (TLC)* 4D NAND product to customers with a plan to start mass production

in the first half of 2023. "The latest achievement follows development of the

176-layer NAND product in December 2020," the company stated. "It is notable

that the latest 238-layer product is most layered and smallest in area at the

same time."

* Triple Level Cell (TLC): NAND Flash products are categorized into Single

Level Cell, Multi Level Cell, Triple Level Cell, Quadruple Level Cell and Penta

Level Cell depending on the number of information (unit: bit) contained in a

single cell. That a cell contains more information means more data can be

stored within the same extent of area.

The company unveiled development of the latest product at the Flash Memory

Summit 2022* in Santa Clara. "SK hynix secured global top-tier competitiveness

in perspective of cost, performance and quality by introducing the 238-layer

product based on its 4D NAND technologies," said Jungdal Choi, Head of NAND

Development at SK hynix in his keynote speech during the event. "We will

continue innovations to find breakthroughs in technological challenges."

* Flash Memory Summit (FMS): The world's biggest conference for NAND Flash

industry taking place in Santa Clara every year. During its keynote speech at

the event SK hynix made a joint announcement with Solidigm.

Since development of the 96-layer NAND product in 2018, SK hynix has introduced

a series of 4D products that outperform existing 3D products. The company has

applied charge trap flash* and peri under cell* technologies to make chips with

4D structures. 4D products have a smaller cell area per unit compared with 3D,

leading to higher production efficiency.

* Charge Trap Flash (CTF): Unlike floating gate, which stores electric charges

in conductors, CTF stores electric charges in insulators, which eliminates

interference between cells, improving read and write performance while reducing

cell area per unit compared to floating gate technology.

* Peri. Under Cell (PUC): A technology that maximizes production efficiency by

placing peripheral circuits under the cell array.

The product, while achieving highest layers of 238, is the smallest NAND in

size, meaning its overall productivity has increased by 34% compared with the

176-layer NAND, as more chips with higher density per unit area can be produced

from each wafer.

The data-transfer speed of the 238-layer product is 2.4Gb per second, a 50%

increase from the previous generation. The volume of the energy consumed for

data reading has decreased by 21%, an achievement that also meets the company's

ESG commitment.

The 238-layer products will be first adopted for client SSDs which are used as

PC storage devices, before being provided for smartphones and high-capacity

SSDs for servers later. The company will also introduce 238-layer products in 1

Terabit (Tb) next year, with density doubled compared to the current 512Gb

product.

About SK hynix Inc.

SK hynix Inc., headquartered in Korea, is the world's top tier semiconductor

supplier offering Dynamic Random Access Memory chips ("DRAM"), flash memory

chips ("NAND flash") and CMOS Image Sensors ("CIS") for a wide range of

distinguished customers globally. The Company's shares are traded on the Korea

Exchange, and the Global Depository shares are listed on the Luxemburg Stock

Exchange. Further information about SK hynix is available at www.skhynix.com,

news.skhynix.com.

Source: SK hynix Inc.

Image Attachments Links:

   Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=426737

   Caption: Figure 1. SK hynix Develops World’s Highest 238-Layer 4D NAND Flash

   Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=426742

   Caption: Figure 2. SK hynix Develops World’s Highest 238-Layer 4D NAND Flash

   Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=426819

   Caption: CTF (Charge Trap Flash)

   Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=426820

   Caption: PUC (Peri. Under Cell)