Korean memory-manufacturer Hynix announced this week that it has started mass production of its latest generation of Flash memory. The new 64Gb (8GB) chips are based on a cutting edge 20nm process and should start showing up in products toward the end of the year.
According to Hynix's Executive VP and CTO Dr S W Park, "with these 20nm class 64Gb chips, the Company is enabled to provide customized, high performance products in a timely manner which perfectly suits mobile solutions."
As well as doubling the capacity over the previous-generation 32Gb 30nm chips, Hynix is claiming a 60 per cent efficiency boost using the same 300mm wafers by moving to the new process.
For consumers, this means that higher-capacity memory that uses less power will begin showing up in smartphones, tablet PCs and media players soon. Given that the vast majority of devices are topping out at 32GB of flash-storage at the moment, it will be a nice to finally see portables and tablets with a little more space.
A move to 20nm manufacturing has wider implications than just for portable devices, though. The fact that full-scale production is now underway means that faster, higher-density and, most importantly, cheaper SSDs and system RAM will start to appear as the new process continues to mature.
