In the spot market, DRAM prices are showing a slight divergence from the contract market. Spot demand has decreased, preventing further price increases for DRAM chips. Meanwhile, NAND Flash prices have been rising due to ongoing wafer shortage. However, spot quotations for NAND Flash packaged dies remain stable due to uncertain demand visibility.

DRAM Spot Market

The price trend of the spot market diverges slightly from that of the contract market. Recently, demand has dropped in the spot market. Even though DRAM suppliers and module houses have been passive in offering price concessions, there also has been no noticeable increase in demand. Furthermore, there is growing sentiment in the spot market that waiting for further developments is the best option. Hence, spot prices of DRAM chips have not been able to rise further. As for modules, their spot prices have experienced limited fluctuations because Kingston, as the leading module house, is unwilling to raise quotes due to its high inventory level. The average spot price of the mainstream chips (i.e., DDR4 1Gx8 2666MT/s) rose by 1.69% from US$1.600 last week to US$1.627 this week.

NAND Flash Spot Market

The spot market, due to continuous shortages in recent wafer supply, has been experiencing rising prices under a shrinking volume, while spot quotations for NAND Flash packaged dies have been oscillating narrowly in quotations on account of the persistently constrained level of visibility in demand. Follow ups on market prices can still be seen among products involved in production cuts of suppliers, whereas other products are fluctuating according to market demand. 512Gb TLC wafer spots have risen by 6.94% this week, arriving at US$2.464.

As the leading global supplier of NAND memory, Samsung is embarking on an ambitious journey to enhance its V-NAND technology, also known as 3D NAND. Early in this week, Samsung has officially declared its commitment to commence mass production of the 9th generation V-NAND memory, featuring an astonishing 300+ layers, by 2024. This achievement will establish a new industry record for the highest number of active layers, solidifying Samsung’s industry leadership.

In a blog post on Samsung Electronics, Jung-Bae Lee, President and Head of Samsung Electronics’ Memory Business, stated, “The ninth-generation V-NAND is well under way for mass production early next year with the industry’s highest layer count based on a double-stack structure.”

Samsung was diligently working on the 9th generation V-NAND back in August this year, preserving the double-stacked technology they first introduced in 2020. Not only is Samsung confirming the trajectory of their next-gen non-volatile memory technology, but it also surpasses competitors by boasting more active layers. It’s been disclosed that SK Hynix’s upcoming 3D NAND will have 321 active layers, Samsung is set to surpass this number.

Jung-Bae Lee further elaborated, “Samsung is also working on the next generation of value-creating technologies, including a new structure that maximizes V-NAND’s input/output (I/O) speed.”

While precise performance details of Samsung’s 9th generation V-NAND remain undisclosed, it will power their upcoming SSDs. In the near future, it is anticipated that Samsung will introduce retail SSDs with the PCIe Gen5 interface, in line with the Samsung 990 Pro series.

Regarding long-term technological advancement, Samsung is committed to minimizing interference between units, reducing device dimensions, and maximizing the count of vertical layers. These innovative strides are clearing the path for Samsung to achieve the industry’s most compact unit size. These endeavors will propel Samsung toward their ambitious goal of developing over 1,000 layers of 3D NAND and distinctive memory solutions, ensuring the continued relevance of their products for data centers, personal computers, and a wide range of applications.

(Image: Samsung)

Read more:

• Memory Spot Price Updates: DRAM and NAND Flash Prices Soaring at Relatively High Levels
• NAND Flash Spot Prices Surge, DRAM Demand Stalls, Spot Prices Remain Volatile in Late September