Despite facing stringent sanctions and being placed on the US Commerce Department’s Entity List, China‘s leading memory chip manufacturer, Yangtze Memory Technologies Co (YMTC), has showcased resilience and innovation. The company, in a recent unveiling, has produced what is being hailed as the “world’s most advanced” 3D NAND memory chip by TechInsights, a notable semiconductor analysis firm.

3D NAND Memory holds potential in AI and machine learning

This significant stride by YMTC is particularly noteworthy as 3D NAND memory holds a pivotal role in high-performance computing applications, especially in artificial intelligence and machine learning. The success of YMTC‘s chip is a testament to China’s unwavering commitment to advancing its domestic semiconductor supply chain, even in the face of international challenges.

Interestingly, this isn’t the first time a Chinese tech entity has stunned industry insiders. The Kirin 9000S 5G processor, housed in the Huawei Mate 60 Pro smartphone, was another product that defied expectations, given the US restrictions it faced.

As of mid-December 2022, escalating trade and geopolitical tensions saw YMTC, alongside 21 other key players in China’s chip sector, added to the US Entity List. Yet, YMTC, based out of Wuhan, remained undeterred. Their focus was on dethroning memory chip giants like Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology with their flagship 3D NAND flash chip, the 232-layer X3-9070. Although mass production of this chip faced obstacles, shifts in the memory chip market dynamics and an emphasis on cost-efficiency seem to have given YMTC a leg up.

Further bolstering YMTC’s position, reports in April indicated that the company had intensified collaboration with Chinese suppliers, aiming to produce its top-tier chips using its “Xtacking 3.0” architecture. This endeavor was part of a covert project, Wudangshan, which sought to rely solely on Chinese equipment.

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Prices of DRAM, and NAND flash memory chips plunged in October as per a Korean report. The reason for the downfall is reportedly the US’ sanction on Huawei that recently came into effect.

According to a research firm DRAMeXchange(via TheElec) prices of PC DDR4 8GB DRAM, 128GB NAND flash memory card. And USB MLC products fell to $2.85, and $4.2 in October respectively. In fact, the drop from August and September is about 8.9% for the DRAM. And 3.4% for the memory chips above. The report also says that the drop is higher than the 5% drop in July for DRAM.  This drop was after a sudden soar in early 2020 due to the COVID-19 situation.

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That said the report says the average selling price of PC DRAM will continue to fall in Q4 2020. It could reach as high as a 10% drop as the oversupply situation is imminent. The reason these prices dint drop that much in Q3 was the heavy stockpiling of Huawei after US ban. Further, South Korean giant Samsung also said that it expects Q4 to be dull for server chips demand as demand lessens, and competition rises.

Before you conclude a catastrophe, the report breathes confidence that the memory market will likely recover next year. Although there isn’t a proper timeline, somewhere before the first half of 2021 should do it. Similarly, Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International(SEMI) predicts that semiconductor fab spending will rise by 18% in 2021.

The impending YoY(year-on-year) demand for Memory chips has forced companies like Samsung to reportedly invest in fab facilities before the situation gets out of hand. This could probably make up for the worst situation it faced this year due to the pandemic.

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Samsung is reportedly seeking to improve the production yield of 6th generation NAND flash memory chips. The South Korean tech giant has apparently set up a special task force for this goal. 

This new task force will seek to raise the competitiveness of its 128 layer V-NAND chip production. The group will include executives from Samsung Device Solutions’ Manufacturing Technology Center and officials from the department that run the NAND flash production. This new team will help solve any issues that may arise during the chip production process and will implement steps to improve overall productivity.

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Currently, Samsung utilizes the channel hole etching technology, which pierces holes from the top to the bottom of the stacked 128 layers. This offers an electrical connection between layers, with higher stacks enabling higher memory capacity. One of the primary drawbacks of this method is the production time since this process for the 128 layers requires twice as long when compared to 96 layer NAND flash chips.

Thus, the new task force will work to overcome such limitations to improve the company’s overall competitiveness. This move from Samsung is a part of its “Super Gap” strategy, which essentially means, leaving the competition so far behind that they can’t catch up. The company has already achieved competitive pricing through its 128-layer NAND flash chip production process but is seeking to improve its margins even further.

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Samsung Electronics is one of the largest known brands for consumer-grade products. However, most are unaware of the South Korean tech giant’s actual size and scale of operations which also includes chip manufacturing processes for other smartphone OEMs. Now, the company is expected to further invest an extra $8 billion in its chipmaking factory in Xi’an, China.

According to a new report, Samsung will increase the investment in the Chinese chip factory to boost the production of NAND flash memory chips. It is speculated that the large investment follows after the company predicts a surge in demand for memory to rebound next year due to limited supplies alongside rising demands for fifth-generation networks and devices.

Currently, Samsung is the world’s largest producer of NAND flash memory chips which are capable of holding data indefinitely and are found in smartphones, USB pen drives, and various types of memory cards. Back in 2017, the company was to invest $7 billion over the course of three years in its Xi’an plant that produces such NAND flash memory chips. This investment followed a $10.8 billion which Samsung had already invested earlier for a testing and packaging plant in Xi’an.

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Samsung’s dominance in the NAND flash memory market is evident with many competitors still seeking to rival the South Korean giant. However, none have been as successful in the overseas market as Samsung has. Known competitors include South Korea’s SK Hynix, US-based Micron Technology Inc, and Toshiba Corp group.

The new investment raise from Samsung indicates of the ever-growing smartphone industry. Furthermore, new generation devices with faster memory and processing are expected to make a breakthrough in the market in the near future as well. Thus, Samsung has already started preparing with a large extra investment. Notably, examples of other areas that are expected to be hit with high demand in 2020 include the camera lens module of smartphones.

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Early this year, Japanese tech giant Toshiba confirmed that it’s looking to spin off its core semiconductor business. Toshiba’s chip division includes its lucrative NAND memory business, which generated 15% of the group’s 5.7 trillion yen annual revenue (~$50 billion). The memory business has an estimated value of about 1.5 trillion yen (about $13 billion).

Since then, the media have been awash with names of potential buyers especially those who have expressed interest in purchasing the business. Big names like Apple, Amazon, Broadcom, SK Hynix, Western Digital and Foxconn had earlier been mentioned in reports as interested in snapping up a deal with Toshiba for the lucrative flash memory business. A new report said to be from The Investor claims that tech giant Google is also interested in buying the NAND flash memory business.

According to the report, Google and Amazon are interested in adding the NAND flash memory business to their portfolio because of it gives them the ability to make their own data servers. Already, both Amazon and Google are buying up massive volumes of data servers and buying the memory business cold potentially save them money. Also, they could still keep the business running and in turn bring in more revenues to their coffers when they supply third-party device manufacturers with components.

Apple currently buys large volumes of memory chips for its iPhone handsets from both Toshiba and Samsung so, its reason for wanting in on the business is not far fetched. But Western Digital which currently runs Toshiba’s main memory production facility in Yokaichi, Japan is tipped to be the likely buyer of the unit.

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The Toshiba Flash memory was developed by the company back in 1984, ushering the industry into the next generation in data storage method. Today, the NAND Flash Memories have evolved into an immense range of applications that include Memory Cards, Solid-State Drives (SSDs), and even industrial equipment. Despite the lucrative nature of the business, Toshiba’s investors have approved its sales in order to help the conglomerate out of its financial troubles caused by its ailing nuclear business in the U.S.

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