Intel plans to release SSDs based on 3D NAND in 2015 with "disruptive cost". SSDs with 3D NAND will also make it possible to sell drives with 10TB capacity, according to the company.
Intel and Micron jointly develop 32 layer 3D NAND with a capacity of 256 Gb on every MLC die. According to the manufacturer it's possible to store as much as 1TB on a 2mm package. The company calls this a breakthrough in the cost of SSDs but unfortunately doesn't mention any pricing information.
Eventually 3D NAND should make it possible to store more than 10TB on a SSD within the next couple of years, according to Rob Crooke, General Manager of Intel's Non-Volatile Memory Solutions Group during a meeting for investors. If TLC 3D NAND memory is used,instead of MLC, it should be possible to store up to 385 Gb per die.
Intel sees SSDs as a tremendous opportunity, according to the company currently only innovators and early adopter have discovered the benefits of SSDs, by 2018 the storage medium should become mainstream. The segmentation in innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards is based on the theory "Diffusion of innovations" which is frequently used in innovation theory.
Currently Samsung manufacturers 32 layer 3D NAND with a capacity of 86 Gb for MLC and 128 Gb for TLC NAND. The next generation of Samsung's 3D NAND (V-NAND) should go in mass production in 2015. Samsung and Intel will be joined on the 3D NAND market by a joint venture of Toshiba and Sandisk who are currently building a fab for the production of 3D NAND. However 3D NAND of those two manufacturers is not expected earlier than 2016.
