Last week, Intel’s memory and storage group produced Intel® QLC 3D NAND solid-state drive (SSD) number 10 million based upon the QLC NAND die built in Dalian, China. Production began in late 2018, and this milestone establishes QLC (quadruple-level cell memory) as a mainstream technology for high-capacity drives.
“许多人谈论QLC技术,但英特尔has shipped it, and at scale,” said Dave Lundell, director of Client SSD Strategic Planning and Product Marketing at Intel. “We have seen strong demand for the cost-effective capacity of our standalone QLC SSD (Intel® SSD 660p) and the performance of our Intel® Optane™ Technology + QLC solution (Intel® Optane™ Memory H10).”
Here are a few quick facts related to the achievement:
- Intel QLC 3D NAND is used in the Intel SSD 660p, Intel SSD 665p and Intel Optane Memory H10 storage solutions.
- Intel’s QLC drive has 4 bits per cell and stores data in both 64-layer and 96-layer NAND configurations.
- Intel has been developing this technology over the past decade. In 2016, Intel engineers changed the orientation of the already-proven floating gate (FG) technology to vertical and wrapped it into a gate all-around structure. The resulting 3D tri-cell level (TLC) technology could store 384 Gb/die. In 2018, 3D QLC flash became a reality, featuring 64 layers with four bits per cell, capable of storing a 1,024 Gb/die. In 2019 Intel moved to 96 layers, reducing overall areal density.
- QLC is now part of Intel’s overall storage portfolio, which includes both client and data center products.