Toshiba Memory Corporation Introduces XL-FLASH™ Storage Class Memory Solution

High-Performance NAND Available; Cost-Effectively Reduces Latency

  • August 8, 2019
  • Toshiba Memory Corporation

TOKYO, August 6, 2019 – Toshiba Memory Corporation, the world leader in memory solutions, today announced the launch of a new Storage Class Memory (SCM) solution: XL-FLASH™. Based on the company’s innovative BiCS FLASH™ 3D flash memory technology with 1bit-per-cell SLC, XL-FLASH™ brings low latency and high performance to data center and enterprise storage. Sample shipments will start in September, with mass production expected to begin in 2020.
Classified as SCM (or persistent memory), with the ability to retain its contents like NAND flash memory, XL-FLASH™ bridges the performance gap that exists between DRAM and NAND. While volatile memory solutions such as DRAM provide the access speed needed by demanding applications, that performance comes at a high cost.  As the cost-per-bit and scalability of DRAM levels off, this new SCM (or persistent memory) layer in the memory hierarchy addresses that issue with a high density, cost effective, non-volatile NAND flash memory solution.
Sitting in between DRAM and NAND flash, XL-FLASH™ brings increased speed, reduced latency and higher storage capacities – at a lower cost than traditional DRAM. XL-FLASH™ will initially be deployed in an SSD format but could be expanded to memory channel attached devices that sit on the DRAM bus, such as future industry standard non-volatile dual in-line memory modules (NVDIMMs).

Key Features

  • 128 gigabit (Gb) die (in a 2-die, 4-die, 8-die package)
  • 4KB page size for more efficient operating system reads and writes
  • 16-plane architecture for more efficient parallelism
  • Fast page read and program times. XL-FLASH™ provides a low read latency of less than 5 microseconds, approximately 10 times faster than existing TLC

As the inventor of NAND flash, the first to announce 3D flash memory technology and a leader in process migrations, Toshiba Memory is ideally positioned to deliver SLC-based SCM with mature manufacturing, proven scalability and time-tested SLC reliability.

Notes:
All company names, product names and service names may be trademarks of their respective companies.
In every mention of a Toshiba Memory product: Product density is identified based on the density of memory chip(s) within the Product, not the amount of memory capacity available for data storage by the end user. Consumer-usable capacity will be less due to overhead data areas, formatting, bad blocks, and other constraints, and may also vary based on the host device and application. For details, please refer to applicable product specifications. The definition of 1Gb = 2^30 bits = 1,073,741,824 bits. The definition of 1GB = 2^30 bytes = 1,073,741,824 bytes. The definition of 1KB = 2^10 bytes = 1,024 bytes.