Skip to main content

Western Digital and Toshiba stack ’em tall with latest 3D NAND storage breakthrough

western digital offices
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Western Digital said on Tuesday that it has completed development of its next-generation 3D NAND technology, which packs 64 layers of vertical storage capacity. Called BiCS3, the tech is now in production and should be available for use later this year. However, commercial volumes of BiCS3 aren’t expected to become available until sometime during the first half of 2017.

BiCS3 is the result of a collaboration between Western Digital and Toshiba. It’s the world’s first 3D NAND technology with 64 layers, up from the 48 layers seen in the previous BiCS2 tech, and will be released as devices with a 256-gigabit capacity featuring 3-bits-per-cell technology. According to WD, this will enable capacities of up to half a terabit on a single chip.

Recommended Videos

Pilot production of BiCS3 is taking place in the new Fab 2 semiconductor fabrication facility located in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, Japan. WD and Toshiba announced its opening on July 15, stating that the facility will focus on converting their 2D NAND capacity to 3D flash memory. First-phase production of 3D flash memory started back in March even though the facility was partially completed.

That collaboration actually stemmed from WD’s acquisition of SanDisk back in May, who previously struck a deal with Toshiba in August 2015 to create a second generation of BiCS flash memory. The resulting device had a 256Gb (32GB) capacity and 48 layers using 3-bit-per-cell TLC (triple-level cell) technology. Thus, it was ideal for SSDs, tablets, smartphones, and other devices requiring internal storage.

BiCS actually stands for Bit Cost Scalable. It’s a three-dimensional memory technology that vertically stacks layers of memory cells like a skyscraper, enabling higher densities than normal NAND because storage expands vertically rather than horizontally, saving space. The first flash-based device based on BiCS featured a two-bit-per-cell structure and a 128Gb (16GB) capacity.

BiCS was introduced by Toshiba in 2007 as the next step in memory once the scaling limit maxed out with existing “flat” floating gate-based NAND technology. According to a lecture by Toshiba’s Akihiro Nitayama, with BiCS, numerous layers of memory cells can be created simultaneously using etching and multilayer formation technologies. He also said the BiCS technology is expected to endure for five generations. We are now into generation three based on this latest announcement from WD.

“The launch of the next-generation 3D NAND technology based on our industry-leading 64-layer architecture reinforces our leadership in NAND flash technology,” said Dr. Siva Sivaram, executive vice president, memory technology, Western Digital. “BiCS3 will feature the use of 3-bits-per-cell technology along with advances in high aspect ratio semiconductor processing to deliver higher capacity, superior performance, and reliability at an attractive cost. Together with BiCS2, our 3D NAND portfolio has broadened significantly, enhancing our ability to address a full spectrum of customer applications in retail, mobile, and data center.”

Western Digital said on Tuesday that BiCS3 devices will begin to be sampled out to OEMs this quarter, followed by volume shipments for the retail market in the fourth quarter of 2016. As for the older BiCS2 devices, WD will continue to ship those to OEMs as well as customers in the retail space.

Kevin Parrish
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Kevin started taking PCs apart in the 90s when Quake was on the way and his PC lacked the required components. Since then…
How to disable 3D and Haptic Touch in iOS
An example of 3D Touch on an iPhone.

In 2015, when Apple launched the iPhone 6S, it also debuted a new iOS interface called 3D Touch. This feature uses the iPhone's pressure-sensitive surface to help you view, navigate, and control some aspects of the device's apps and features. You could use it to call up an app's Quick Actions, preview notifications, operate actions from the Control Center, and "peek and pop" with certain apps without having to launch them.

3D Touch was used in the iPhone 6S, 7, 8, X, and XS models before being replaced by Haptic Touch, which responds only to a finger press's length. While some people could use 3D Touch to their advantage and profoundly miss it, others found it unintuitive at best and annoying at worst. This article explains how to disable 3D Touch on iPhones that have it and disable Haptic Touch.
How to disable 3D Touch and Haptic Touch

Read more
This house was 3D printed in 48 hours and finished in a week. Now, it’s for sale
SQ4D - 3D printed house

“I love this space,” exclaimed the woman, in her early 20s, looking around as she walked into the room.

“I thought you would,” the real estate agent said, all smiles. “It would make a great office or, depending on what your plans are, it could be a beautiful nursery.”

Read more
Ceramic ink could let doctors 3D print bones directly into a patient’s body
ceramic ink 3d printed bones bioprinting australia 2

Scientists use a novel ink to 3D print ‘bone’ with living cells

The term 3D bioprinting refers to the use of 3D printing technology to fabricate biomedical parts that, eventually, could be used to create replacement organs or other body parts as required. While we’re not at that point just yet, a number of big advances have been made toward this dream over the past couple of decades.

Read more