DailyTech - Toshiba Announces First 128GB NAND Flash Memory Module

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Hardware Toshiba Announces First 128GB NAND Flash Memory Module
Mark Kurlyandchik - June 17, 2010 4:16 PM

9 comment(s) - last by Dodgy.. on Jun 20 at 5:35 AM

(Source: Toshiba)

Doubles previous offering, Apple likely to benefit

With the announcement of a 128GB NAND flash memory module yesterday, Toshiba, a leader in NAND flash memory production, has staked its claim as the first manufacturer to reach the 128GB benchmark -- double the size of its earlier offering.

The tiny, e-MMC compliant behemoth combines 16 smaller 64Gbit NAND chips (equal to 8GB each) into a 17 x 22 x 1.4mm package. This is good news for consumer electronic devices like smart phones, digital video cameras, and tablets.

"Toshiba is the first company to succeed in combining sixteen 64Gbit NAND chips, and applied advanced chip thinning and layering technologies to realize individual chips that are only 30 micrometers thick," the company said in a press release.

The embedded module boasts 55MB/sec read speeds and 21MB/sec write speeds, more than doubling Samsung's 20nm class NAND.

This type of memory is ideal especially for Apple products like the iPad, iPhone, and iPod lines.

Mass production for Toshiba's 128GB module is slated for Q4 of this year.

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Velocity,

By greylica on 6/17/2010 4:41:01 PM , Rating: 2

Assuming each module has 21MB(ytes)/sec Write and 55MB(ytes)/sec Read, and multiplying it for 10 to get an average amount of Mb(its)/sec, we have 210Mbit/sec write and 550Mbit/sec Read.
3 pieces of this memory can feed a Sata 3 Interface (teoretically). If we get a 4 memory 1.8 SSD (512 Megabytes) using a good internal memory raid controller and an ultra fast cache (using the full 840 Mbit sec write and 2200Mbit Read) may we finnaly have a SSD that is well suited to use (or at least to test) Sata 3 at full specs.

RE: Velocity,

By twhittet on 6/17/2010 6:24:53 PM , Rating: 2

For some odd reason I'm thinking your math has gotta be wrong somewhere, but I'm far too lazy to figure out where. Way to be optimistic though!

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RE: Velocity,

By SAnderson on 6/18/2010 8:48:31 AM , Rating: 2

Incorrect, there is no controller in this package, just pure NAND. The controller is the piece that basically RAIDs the chips to achieve the 200+ MB access speeds of an SSD. If it had 210/550Mb read/write they would surely advertise it. The the Read speed would be more than the write if you actually knew anything about NAND.

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RE: Velocity,

By geddarkstorm on 6/18/2010 1:44:18 PM , Rating: 3

Err, he listed read as faster than write, and he took his numbers straight from the article itself. Those are the theoretical speed of the chips as advertised by Toshiba.

Now, putting the chips into "RAID" depends on the channels of the control, like the Intel controllers which use 10 parallel channels. If each channel can theoretically do 21/55 MBps write/read, that's 210/550 MBps, or 1680/4400 Mbps. So, it wouldn't likely saturate a SATA 3 (6000 Mbps), but it'll come very close. Now, all that's theoretical, including the SATA 3 speed, overhead on the controller and bus will slow things down beneath all this. But, none the less, these new chips are blindingly fast compared to the old, and the old already peg out the SATA 2 bus.

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RE: Velocity,

By Dodgy on 6/20/2010 5:35:52 AM , Rating: 2

This has NOTHING to do with SSD's its flash as in usb keysticks etc. Also the speeds are almost certainly mega bits NOT megabtyes, as is the normal convention. Talk of saturating the BUs is as useful as driving a double-decker thru a puddle!

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sign me up.

By inperfectdarkness on 6/18/2010 7:58:17 AM , Rating: 2

although expensive as hell (at least certainly for now) packing these into my existing 2 x 3.5" external hard drive enclosure would yield several TB of space/storage vs existing platter-drives.

that said, i'd settle for having 2 of these in my next smartphone.

RE: sign me up.

By Redwin on 6/18/2010 9:28:23 AM , Rating: 1

Wake me up when the affordable 1TB SSD's get here.

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For cell phones, PMPs, flash drives . . .

By blueboy09 on 6/18/2010 12:25:34 AM , Rating: 2

and list goes on and on on the applications that this could have for the electronic field. 128GB would be more than sufficient for most people and would be good for hi-def pics and movies that are becoming the standard on many portables today. Just hope that some of the manufacturers put in their products an extra slot for double the memory to make 256GB now that would be sweet!!