65.2% of NAND flash to be produced using 3-D process by 2017

Semiconductor memory manufacturers are going faster in three-dimensional fabrication of semiconductor wafers to increase the memory density. IHS has reported by 2017, nearly 65.2 percent of all NAND memory chips shipped worldwide going to be produced using 3-D manufacturing processes, up from less than 1 percent in 2013. IHS estimates the share of the overall NAND market accounted for by 3-D technology is set to jump to 5.2 percent in 2014, and then surge to 30.2 percent of total flash memory shipments in 2015. In 2016, 3-D NAND will enlarge its market share to 49.8 percent, as for IHS. The figure below provides more data on that.
“There’s widespread agreement that just one or two generations may be left before NAND flash made using conventional planar semiconductor technology reaches its theoretical limit,” said Dee Robinson, senior analyst, memory and storage for IHS. “As lithographies shrink further, performance and reliability may become too degraded for NAND to be used in anything but the very lowest-cost consumer products. Because NAND suppliers are compelled to continue building products with higher densities and lower prices, they will migrate to 3-D manufacturing quickly in the coming years.” IHS shares these below further details of its latest study on three...