Kioxia and SanDisk Begin Sampling 332-Layer BiCS10 NAND, Claiming a 59 Percent Bit-Density Gain for AI Data-Center SSDs
The flash-memory partners started sampling their 10th-generation 3D NAND on July 3, targeting enterprise SSDs, with mass production reportedly slated for 2027.
Overview
Kioxia and SanDisk, the joint-venture partners behind the BiCS family of 3D flash memory, have begun sampling their 10th-generation NAND. Kioxia began sample shipments of 1Tb triple-level-cell (TLC) memory devices built on its 10th-generation BiCS FLASH technology on July 3, as reported by TrendForce. SanDisk announced sampling of the same BiCS10 1Tb TLC memory, describing it as designed to support data-intensive and AI-driven workloads, according to SanDisk. The two companies jointly develop and manufacture the BiCS line, as reported by StorageReview.
What We Know
The defining figure is density. BiCS10 stacks 332 memory layers and improves bit density by 59 percent compared with the eighth-generation BiCS8 product currently in mass production, according to SanDisk. SanDisk put the resulting 1Tb TLC memory density at greater than 29Gb/mm2, which it called industry-leading, according to SanDisk.
On interface performance, BiCS10 supports a NAND interface speed of up to 4.8 gigabits per second, a 33 percent improvement over the eighth-generation flash in mass production, as reported by StorageReview. SanDisk said the parts support the Toggle DDR6.0 interface along with the SCA protocol and PI-LTT technology, according to SanDisk.
The two companies describe the power gains differently. SanDisk said BiCS10 reduces power consumption by 10 percent for data input and 34 percent for data output versus BiCS8, according to SanDisk. Kioxia framed the same improvements as 18 percent and 30 percent for write and read power efficiency, as reported by StorageReview.
Both companies build BiCS10 on CMOS directly Bonded to Array (CBA) technology, in which the CMOS logic and the memory array are fabricated on separate wafers and then bonded together, as reported by StorageReview. SanDisk said the technology is built on its Bit-Cost Scalable (BiCS) 3D NAND architecture, according to SanDisk.
SanDisk CTO Alper Ilkbahar said, “As the world becomes more connected, data-intensive and intelligent, NAND plays an increasingly mission-critical role in delivering the performance, efficiency and scale modern computing requires,” according to SanDisk. Kioxia is aiming its version squarely at enterprise and data-center SSDs, while SanDisk is framing it around higher density, faster interfaces, and better power efficiency for data-intensive workloads, as reported by StorageReview.
What We Don’t Know
Mass production is not yet under way. Kioxia plans to begin BiCS 10 NAND mass production in 2027, and the chips will be built at its Kitakami Plant Fab 2 in Iwate Prefecture, Japan, as reported by TrendForce. SanDisk has not shared a mass-production timeline or named the first commercial products, and the devices remain in the sampling stage, as reported by StorageReview.
Analysis
The headline number here is layers, but the more telling detail is what Kioxia and SanDisk chose not to do. Rather than chase the 400-plus-layer counts that rivals have been pursuing, the partners settled on 332 layers, an approach Kioxia argues cuts cost per gigabyte by around 10 percent while delivering better power efficiency, as reported by TrendForce. That framing reflects a broader shift in the NAND market, where density, endurance, and power efficiency at the SSD level increasingly matter more than a raw layer-count record, and where AI data centers have become the demand driver the memory makers are designing around.