Intel and Micron launch 96-layer TLC and 64-layer QLC NAND

Intel and Micron have announced two innovations within the memory industry, managing to stack their 3rd Generation 3D TLC memory up to 96 stacks, from 64 stacks, to offer industry-leading storage densities. Alongside this, both companies have also created 1Tb QLC (Quad-Level-Cell) memory dies, providing a 33% increase in storage densities over their TLC (Triple-Level-Cell) counterparts. 

In the image above you can see a comparison between the four main NAND memory types, each of which are defined by how much data is contained in each memory cell. Each piece of data can be stored as a 1 or a 0, with each level of capacity coming with an exponential increase in complexity. With SLC there are two states, 1 and 0, with MLC coming with four states, 11, 10, 01 and 00, with each increase bringing with it a 2x increase in the number of memory states. 

Typically, each move came with reduced NAND performance and decreased write longevity, making many think that QLC memory was off the cards for NAND memory. Today most memory manufacturers are working on QLC memory, finding that the performance and reliability drop are not as big as the move from MLC to TLC, making QLC extremely attractive for the consumer market. 

By increasing the amount of data that can be fitted into a soncle cell, NAND manufacturers can effectively give customers larger memory capacities at almost no additional cost, allowing the price of SSDs to be driven down through the use of the new NAND type. While more complex NAND offers decreased performance and reliability, these issues can mostly be worked around if the user primarily focuses on read-centric workloads or used a DRAM or SLC cache to accelerate the drive under certain conditions.