Kioxia Ends 2D NAND Production Era

Post LinkedIn

🏠Read original on IT之家

#nand-flash#storage-eol#memory-shiftkioxia-nand-flashkioxia2d-nand3d-nand

💡2D NAND dies in 2028: Kioxia exit forces AI infra to upgrade storage stacks

⚡ 30-Second TL;DR

What Changed

Stops 32nm SLC, 24nm MLC, 15nm MLC/TLC 2D NAND from 2009-2014

Why It Matters

Accelerates industry shift to 3D NAND, critical for AI data centers needing high-capacity storage. Legacy 2D NAND users in embedded/AI edge must migrate soon.

What To Do Next

Audit AI training/inference storage for 2D NAND and plan 3D migration by 2026.

Who should care:Developers & AI Engineers

Key Points

•Stops 32nm SLC, 24nm MLC, 15nm MLC/TLC 2D NAND from 2009-2014
•Includes early 64-layer BiCS3 3D NAND and all packages like eMMC, UFS
•Last orders: Sept 30, 2026; final shipments: Dec 31, 2028
•Driven by AI demand surge making old lines uneconomical

🧠 Deep Insight

AI-generated analysis for this event — not the original article.

🔑 Enhanced Key Takeaways

•The phase-out strategy prioritizes the reallocation of legacy fab capacity toward high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and advanced 3D NAND nodes required for AI-driven data center workloads.
•Kioxia's decision reflects a broader industry trend where the cost-per-bit advantage of 2D NAND has been completely eclipsed by the scaling efficiency of high-layer-count 3D NAND architectures.
•The discontinuation includes specific legacy embedded storage solutions (eMMC/UFS) that have remained in demand for industrial and automotive applications, forcing these sectors to accelerate qualification of newer, more expensive 3D NAND alternatives.

📊 Competitor Analysis▸ Show

Feature	Kioxia (Legacy 2D/Early 3D)	Samsung (Legacy 2D/Early 3D)	Micron (Legacy 2D/Early 3D)
Status	Phasing out by 2028	Phasing out / Limited support	Phasing out / Limited support
Focus	Transitioning to BiCS 8/9+	Transitioning to V-NAND 9/10+	Transitioning to Replacement Gate
Market Strategy	Aggressive legacy exit	Gradual legacy sunset	Targeted legacy exit

🛠️ Technical Deep Dive

2D NAND (Planar) architecture relies on floating-gate transistors arranged in a single layer, which hit physical scaling limits below 15nm due to electron interference and cell-to-cell coupling.
BiCS (Bit Cost Scalable) technology utilizes a charge trap flash (CTF) structure, allowing for vertical stacking of memory cells to increase density without shrinking the horizontal lithography.
The transition involves moving from legacy 2D processes to advanced 3D NAND nodes that utilize wafer-to-wafer bonding and CMOS-under-array (CuA) architectures to maximize die efficiency.

🔮 Future ImplicationsAI analysis grounded in cited sources

Industrial and automotive component prices will rise significantly by 2027.

The forced migration of long-lifecycle products to newer 3D NAND architectures requires expensive re-qualification and redesign of existing hardware platforms.

Kioxia will increase its total bit-shipment capacity by 2029.

Converting legacy 2D fab space to high-density 3D NAND production significantly increases the total storage capacity output per square foot of cleanroom space.

⏳ Timeline

1987-01

Toshiba (now Kioxia) invents NAND flash memory.

2007-01

Introduction of the first 3D NAND concept by Toshiba.

2017-06

Kioxia (then Toshiba Memory) announces mass production of 64-layer BiCS FLASH.

2019-10

Toshiba Memory officially rebrands as Kioxia Corporation.

2023-03

Kioxia announces 218-layer 3D NAND technology.

🏠Read original article on IT之家

📰

Weekly AI Recap

Read this week's curated digest of top AI events →

👉Related Updates

Same topic

Explore #nand-flash

Same product