Trends and Future Challenges of 3D NAND Flash Memory

Abstract

NAND flash memory industry has made significant progress in the density and technology since the introduction of 3D NAND flash memory. It took only a few years to change the mainstream of the NAND flash memory from 2D NAND to 3D NAND thanks to its superior cell characteristics with bit cost scalability in spite of the difficulties in process. Up to now, 3D NAND technology also has been advancing rapidly, driving bit growth scaling with the increase in the number of vertical word lines. However, NAND flash memory industry is constantly encountering the new challenges in terms of the capacity and performance. In this paper, we review trends and key technologies during the evolution of 3D NAND flash memory and the challenges NAND industry need to solve to meet the growing market requirement.