43nm MLC NAND Flash Memory in Production by SanDisk and Co-Developed With Toshiba

SanDisk Corporation announced the introduction of
Multi-Level (MLC) NAND flash memory using 43 nanometer (nm) process
technology co-developed with Toshiba Corporation in Japan.

This 43nm
technology advancement provides twice the density per chip compared to
56nm 16Gigabit (Gb) process technology, thus lowering the die-cost while
maintaining performance and reliability. During the second quarter of
2008, SanDisk intends to begin shipping products using the industry’s
highest available density of single-chip MLC NAND flash memory.
Shipments will start with 16Gigabit and will be followed by 32Gigabit in
the second half of 2008.

“We’re excited about
commencing the production ramp of the 43nm generation of MLC NAND flash
memory with its significantly lower cost benefits,”
said Dr. Randhir Thakur, SanDisk’s executive
vice president of technology and worldwide operations. “Technology
features include SanDisk’s patented All Bit
line (ABL) architecture with efficient programming algorithms and
8-Kilobyte (KB) page size, providing high performance capabilities.
State-of-the-art lithography, other process technology innovations and
industry-first 64-NAND string architecture provide lower cost per
megabyte and excellent performance. The 43nm technology generation will
become our major focus during 2008 as we continue to provide
leading-edge technology and cost benefits to our customers,”
he added.

SanDisk and Toshiba presented today a joint paper on 43nm 16Gb NAND
flash memory at the 2008 International Solid State Circuits Conference
(ISSCC), highlighting the technical advancements.

Continuing its leadership in the development and fabrication of advanced
NAND flash technology, SanDisk has started the transition to 43nm
manufacturing at Toshiba’s Yokkaichi
Operations near Nagoya, Japan. SanDisk and Toshiba share output from the
Yokkaichi facility and have co-developed many of the designs and
technologies in MLC NAND flash. The new 43nm flash will be produced
initially at Fab 4, the new 300mm wafer facility that SanDisk and
Toshiba recently opened. In the second half of 2008, Fab 3 also is
expected to transition to 43nm.

The 43nm generation of NAND flash combined with SanDisk’s
systems innovation and proprietary controllers is also expected to
enable emerging markets such as Solid State Drives (SSDs) and managed
NAND such as iNAND, to expand the flash storage capabilities of the
rapidly growing mobile market, and to extend our leadership in
differentiated high performance product lines.

SanDisk Corporation