Intel Corp. (Nasdaq: INTC) and partner
Micron Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: MU) on Monday said they have begun mass production of their 34-nanometer NAND flash memory chip.
The chip is built with a manufacturing process that enables the companies to shrink chip components in order to get more memory in the same amount of space. The latest product can fit 4 GB of memory on a core and eight cores on a layer for a total of 64 GB of memory on a two-layer stack within a package.
The technology fits into a standard 48-lead thin small-outline package (TSOP), which is a type of surface-mount integrated-circuit package found in MP3 players, mobile phones, and other devices where space is a premium.
"The tiny 34-nm, 32-GB chip enables our customers to easily increase their NAND storage capacity for a number of consumer and computing products," Brian Shirley, VP of Micron's memory group, said in a statement.
The latest chips are manufactured on 300-mm wafers and are smaller than the size of a thumbnail. The memory is targeted at makers of digital cameras, personal music players, and digital camcorders. In addition, the new technology can be used to increase the storage capacity of solid-state drives, the companies said.
