WD Plans to Mass Produce 162-Layer NAND by the End of the Year, Over 200 Layers by 2024

Western Digital (WD) has announced ambitious plans to accelerate its NAND flash memory technology roadmap, with mass production of 162-layer NAND scheduled to begin by the end of this year. The company also revealed plans to surpass the 200-layer milestone by 2024, positioning itself at the forefront of storage technology innovation.

The Race for Higher Density NAND

NAND flash memory manufacturers have been engaged in an intense competition to increase layer counts, which directly translates to higher storage densities and improved performance. Western Digital's announcement comes as competitors like Micron, SK Hynix, and Samsung have all made significant strides in their own high-layer-count NAND development.

The current generation of WD's BiCS5 3D NAND features 112 layers, while the upcoming BiCS6 will introduce the 162-layer design. The company's roadmap indicates that BiCS7, expected in 2024, will exceed 200 layers, potentially reaching as high as 232 layers according to industry analysts.

Technical Innovations Enabling Higher Layer Counts

Western Digital's ability to achieve these higher layer counts stems from several technical innovations:

• Improved Etching Techniques: New manufacturing processes allow for more precise and deeper etching, enabling the creation of higher aspect ratio memory holes.
• Enhanced Deposition Methods: Advanced material deposition techniques ensure uniform layer formation even as the stack height increases.
• Charge Trap Flash Design: WD continues to refine its charge trap flash architecture, which offers better reliability and endurance compared to traditional floating gate designs.
• Multi-deck Architecture: For the 200+ layer NAND, WD is expected to implement a multi-deck approach, essentially stacking two or more arrays on top of each other.

Performance and Efficiency Improvements

The transition to 162-layer and eventually 200+ layer NAND is expected to deliver substantial benefits across several key metrics:

• Storage Density: Up to 50% increase in bits per wafer compared to the current 112-layer technology.
• Read/Write Speeds: Approximately 30-40% improvement in I/O performance.
• Power Efficiency: 15-20% reduction in power consumption per bit.
• Cost Reduction: Estimated 25-30% decrease in cost per gigabyte, potentially accelerating SSD adoption in more price-sensitive markets.

Market Implications

Western Digital's aggressive NAND roadmap has significant implications for the storage market:

For consumers, the higher density NAND will enable more affordable high-capacity SSDs, potentially pushing 4TB and 8TB drives into mainstream price points by late 2024. Performance improvements will also benefit gaming, content creation, and everyday computing tasks.

In the enterprise sector, data centers will be able to achieve higher storage densities with lower power consumption, addressing two critical challenges in modern infrastructure design. The improved cost structure could also accelerate the replacement of traditional hard drives in more storage tiers.

Challenges Ahead

Despite the promising roadmap, Western Digital faces several challenges in bringing these advanced NAND technologies to market:

• Manufacturing Complexity: As layer counts increase, production becomes exponentially more complex, potentially affecting yields and initial costs.
• Reliability Concerns: Higher layer counts introduce new reliability challenges that must be addressed through controller firmware and error correction improvements.
• Competition: Rivals like Micron and Samsung are pursuing similarly aggressive roadmaps, creating intense market pressure.

Conclusion

Western Digital's plans to mass produce 162-layer NAND by year-end and exceed 200 layers by 2024 represent a significant milestone in storage technology evolution. If successful, these advancements will deliver substantial improvements in capacity, performance, and cost-efficiency across consumer and enterprise storage solutions.

As the storage industry continues its rapid transition from mechanical to solid-state technologies, these higher-density NAND developments will play a crucial role in enabling the next generation of computing devices and data infrastructure.