Samsung begins expansion of Pyeongtaek NAND flash line

Samsung Electronics has begun construction to expand its V-NAND memory production line at its Pyeongtaek plant in South Korea, the company announced Monday.

It comes only 11 days after it announced it we building a new contract-chip making line at the plant that will produce 5-nanometer chips.

The expanded memory line will begin producing cutting-edge, 100-layer class V-NAND flash in the second half of 2021, Samsung said. The company has begun building the cleaning room in May, it said.

It will meet the expanded demand for NAND flash memory in the mid- to long-term from the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) in the era of Fourth Industrial Revolution, Samsung said.

Samsung has been the world’s largest NAND flash memory maker since 2002. The company produces them at its planta at the cities of Pyeongtaek and Hwaseong in South Korea and at Xi’an, China. 

The tech giant began producing the industry’s first 100-layer V-NAND in August, 2019, ahead of rivals.

Demand for NAND flash memory is growing. Demand for solid-state drives (SSD) from servers are especially high due to online services that are becoming more active due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent social distancing measures. 

Intel has said it plans to launch 144-layer NAND flash SSD to meet this demand. Micron is also planning to began production of 128-layer 3D NAND flash in the second quarter. China’s YMTC last month said it has successfully developed a 128-layer NAND flash and will commercialize this year.