SK Hynix, a semiconductor leader, announced a significant breakthrough in NAND flash technology on August 9 at the Flash Memory Summit in California. They introduced a pioneering 321-layer 1Tb TLC 4D NAND flash memory, marking a notable advancement in NAND capabilities.

As the first company in the industry to surpass 300 layers in NAND development, SK Hynix plans to refine the 321-layer NAND for mass production by mid-2025. This leap builds upon their expertise gained from 238-layer NAND production, showcasing their commitment to pushing technological boundaries.

The efficiency of the 321-layer NAND is 59% higher than its 238-layer predecessor, attributed to enhanced data storage unit stacking. This translates to increased storage capacity and improved chip output per wafer.

In response to the growing demand for high-performance memory solutions in the AI market, SK Hynix unveiled next-gen NAND products, including PCIe 5-equipped enterprise SSDs and UFS 4.0 solutions, catering to the increasing need for advanced storage.

SK Hynix’s dedication to innovation is further emphasized by its ongoing development of PCI 6.0 and UFS 5.0 products, solidifying its market leadership position. Meanwhile, VP of SK Hynix NAND Flash Development, affirmed their commitment to leading the NAND technology domain with the development of fifth-gen 321-layer 4D NAND, tailored to the AI era.

(Source: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/OJ3_hw2jQuXT5YGiX0K8-Q)

DRAM Spot Market
Compared with last week, there are signs that the decline in DRAM spot prices is easing, but there has not been a noticeable increase in overall transaction volume. The spot market still has an abundant supply of DDR4 products mainly due to the influx of rebelled chips from decommissioned server DRAM modules. As a result, DDR4 products are under greater pressure to sell compared with DDR5 products. Currently, consumer 1Gx8 DDR4 chips are priced around US$0.88-0.9, while those from CXMT are priced around US$1. DDR4 chips from other suppliers are mostly being sold to customers in the industrial equipment segment, resulting in higher spot prices of around US$1.4. DDR5 products have relatively stable spot prices as they belong to the new generation and their supply has not been affected by recalled products. The average spot price of DDR5 2Gx8 chips from suppliers is now above US$4. In sum, DRAM spot prices are not showing signs of a rebound in the near future, mainly due to sluggish demand and an excess supply of DDR4 products. The average spot price of mainstream chips (DDR4 1Gx8 2666MT/s) dropped by 0.41% from US$1.468 last week to US$1.462 this week.

NAND Spot Market
Peak season effects are yet to be seen from the demand end, where NAND Flash suppliers’ successive increase of quotations has not ramped up stocking dynamics as some module houses have long raised their inventory, and the retail market is experiencing a poor level of actual transactions without aggressive price negotiations. Prices are maintained at a consolidation this week. 512Gb TLC wafer spots have risen by 1.06% this week, arriving at US$1.436.

DRAM Spot Market:

Continuing from the previous week, the influx of used chips that were stripped from decommissioned server DRAM modules is still causing spot prices of DDR4 products to drop. As for DDR5 products, there is no such issue affecting their supply. However, module houses are holding a high level of inventory for DDR5 products because they stocked up aggressively in 2Q23, while the actual demand remains in a slump. Hence, spot prices on the whole have kept falling. The average spot price of the mainstream chips (i.e., DDR4 1Gx8 2666 MT/s) dropped by 0.74% from US$1.479 last week to US$1.468 this week.

NAND Flash Spot Market:

The spot market has been lingering at sluggish transactions since July under feeble inquiries between market participants. Fortunately, the reduction of spot prices has somewhat mitigated over the past two weeks due to suppliers’ continuous intention in an on-going production cut and price increment. Certain components have not seen a further drop in prices after a consolidation at the low end, though the level of transactions remains at a rather insignificant extent, and the continuity of purchases will require further observations. 512Gb TLC wafer spots have risen by 1.21% this week, arriving at US$1.421.

DRAM Spot Market
The situation in the spot market has not noticeably changed from last week and is still showing sluggish demand. Additionally, as mentioned in previous bulletins, there has been an influx of chips stripped from decommissioned server DRAM modules. These chips primarily come from the two major South Korean suppliers’ legacy processes and are reused in PC DRAM and consumer DRAM products after software modifications. In terms of performance, the reused chips from the Korean suppliers can reach a data rate of 3200MT/s. Overall, the presence of these reused chips continues to exert downward pressure on spot prices, particularly for DDR4 products. The average spot price of mainstream chips (i.e., DDR4 1Gx8 2666MT/s) fell by 0.27% from US$1.497 last week to US$1.493 this week.

NAND Flash Spot Market

The spot market remains unaffected by the quarterly list prices of suppliers that have increased or leveled certain packaged dies, where sluggishness is seen lingering among overall demand under sporadic inquiries. In addition, concluded prices are still dropping slowly due to the lack of urgency among clients under sufficient stocks of the current spot market. 512Gb TLC wafer spots have dropped by 0.14% this week, arriving at US$1.402.

TrendForce has released the latest spot prices of memory, which have continued to decline due to the impact of the stagnant market conditions. Both DRAM and NAND Flash spot prices have dropped further. The details are as follows:

DRAM Spot Market:

Compared with last week, the spot market is still not showing a noticeable improvement in terms of trading activities. Sellers are under a certain amount of pressure because some module houses have already stocked up in advance, and the demand from channels remains fairly weak. Hence, spot prices of DDR4 and DDR5 products continue to register daily drops. The average spot price of the mainstream chips (i.e., DDR4 1Gx8 2666MT/s) fell by 0.27% from US$1.501 last week to US$1.497 this week.

NAND Flash Spot Market:

There has been no apparent WoW improvement to the dynamics of the NAND Flash spot market this week. Several module houses, having elevated their inventory in advance, are now experiencing a certain extent of sales pressure from a lack of betterment in demand among channel markets, which led to an on-going drop of NAND Flash prices. 512Gb TLC wafer spots have dropped by 0.28% this week, arriving at US$1.404.