Incredible vinyl-like super SSDs could make hard disk drives obsolete

(Image credit: MS Mikel / Shutterstock)

Modern hyperscale datacenters have infinite appetite for storage performance, capacity, and density, which is why multiple new SSD form-factors designed to maximize performance and capacity were introduced in the recent years. 

But Kioxia believes that there is a faster and cheaper way to deliver desired solid-state storage solutions to cloud customers: wafer-level SSDs. 

With capacities starting at around 50 TBs using current 3D QLC NAND, such devices could offer unbeatable performance.

Wafer-level SSDs

In a nutshell, Kioxia proposes to skip dicing, assembly, chip packaging, and SSD drive assembly, but use a whole wafer with 3D NAND instead. 

The wafer is to be probed using Kioxia’s ‘super multi-probing technology’ to discover as well as disable faulty 3D NAND dies and then attached to a pad with I/O and power connectors. The whole thing should be operated in parallel to extract maximum sequential and random IOPS performance.

The current capacity of SSDs is limited by form-factors and chip packaging technologies, whereas performance boundaries are defined by controllers (i.e., by the number of their NAND channels as well as their ability to effectively perform ECC and other necessary operations quickly) and the PCI Express interface. 

On a wafer level, one can get an extreme number of NAND channels (think well beyond Microsemi’s 32 channels common on enterprise-grade SSDs), whereas a PCIe 6.0 x16 interface would deliver up to 128 GB/s of bandwidth. As for IOPS, we are talking about a multi-channel monstrous SSDs, so think of millions of IOPS.

(Image credit: Blocks & Files)

Shigeo Oshima, Kioxia’s chief engineer, described the concept of wafer-level SSDs in a presentation at VLSI Symposium 2020, meaning this is not a product from the company’s roadmap, but hopefully something to come soon.

However Kioxia currently produces 1.33 Tb 96-layer 3D QLC NAND chips that measure 158.4 mm2 and deliver up to a 132 MB/s write performance due to a quad-plane architecture. Approximately 355 of such dies fit on a 300-mm wafer, so assuming a yield rate of approximately 90%, Toshiba gets around 320 good dies, or 53 TB of raw 3D QLC NAND. With future iterations, Toshiba will have even more raw 3D NAND per wafer.

A solid-state storage solution based on 300-mm 3D NAND wafer(s) would look like a standard rack server with its own logic, PSU, cooling system, and other components like network interfaces. From storage density point of view, such a server is not going to be a champion (not in a world where you can pack 100 TB into a 3.5-inch form-factor), but if you need extreme performance at a relatively low price, a device of such kind could make sense.

  • Also check out our complete list of the best business laptops: top devices for working from home, SMB and more

Via  Blocks & Files

Anton Shilov is the News Editor at AnandTech, Inc. For more than four years, he has been writing for magazines and websites such as AnandTech, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, Kit Guru, EE Times, Tech & Learning, EE Times Asia, Design & Reuse.

Latest in Pro
person at a computer
Many workers are overconfident at spotting phishing attacks
AI tools.
Laying the foundations for successful GenAI adoption
A person in a wheelchair working at a computer.
Why betting on Mac security could put your organization at risk
Zorin OS 17 main image
I tried the latest version of Zorin OS - here's what I thought of this Linux distro
WatchGuard Firebox T45-CW main image
I tried the WatchGuard Firebox - here's what I thought of this 5G appliance
Finger Presses Orange Button Domain Name Registration on Black Keyboard Background. Closeup View
I visited the world’s first registered .com domain – and you won’t believe what it’s offering today
Latest in News
A man getting angry with his laptop.
Windows 11 bug deletes Copilot from the OS – is this the first glitch ever some users will be happy to encounter?
An image of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra from a hands-on event
Samsung's latest software upgrade could mean Galaxy phones beat iPhones for gaming – but you can't get it yet
person at a computer
Many workers are overconfident at spotting phishing attacks
Some of the Avengers standing in a room without their costumes on in Marvel's Avengers: Endgame movie
'It's a new beginning': Avengers 5 and 6 directors tease what Marvel fans can expect from Doomsday and Secret Wars' plot – and how they will set up the MCU's future
Google Pixel 8a in aloe green showing
Google Pixel 9a benchmark link teases the performance of the upcoming mid-ranger
Quordle on a smartphone held in a hand
Quordle hints and answers for Monday, March 17 (game #1148)