The availability of Intel Optane M.2 drives for PCs with 3D XPoint memory enabled the specialists to consider more closely what kind of an animal it is. Recall, Intel did not admit for a long time on what principle this memory works. Later it became known that this is a memory with a change in the phase state of the substance, when the material of the cell under the influence of heating by current changes its state from amorphous (high resistance) to crystalline (low resistance) and back. TechInsights
specialists purchased a 16-GB Intel Optane M.2 model and opened the 3D XPoint chip.
The memory chip turned out to be with five metal layers with the placement of memory cells between 4 and 5 layers. By the way, Intel promised to start the release of 3D XPoint memory with a two-layer version, but in the photo we see only one layer with memory cells. As the material of the working layer of cells is called arsenic with additives of chalcogenide. Cells 3D XPoint quite a large area.
It is measured that in the 20-nm chipset 3D XPoint with a capacity of 16 GB (not gigabit!), The memory density is 0.62 Gbit / mm2. For comparison, the memory density in the 3D NAND Toshiba / SanDisk chips and in the 48-layer Samsung 3D NAND TLC memory is 2.5 Gbit / mm2, and in the 15-nm planed NAND TLC Toshiba / SanDisk - 1.28 Gb / mm2. But compared to the density of the allocation of cells in DRAM chips, the 3D XPoint memory wins a multiple: 4.5 times compared to the 20-nm DRAM Micron and 3.5
times compared to the 18-nm DRAM of Samsung. Obviously, 3D XPoint in the form of memory modules, which we are waiting for next year, will give impetus to the development of memory subsystems of server systems.
Finally, let's report the parameters of the 3D XPoint crystal. The dimensions of the 16-GB chip package are 17.6 x 13.7 mm, and the crystal size is 16.16 x 12.78 mm. The area of the crystal is 206.5 mm2. This is relatively large. Due to the large array of memory cells, the memory efficiency relative to the interface is the highest in the memory industry - 91.4%. The efficiency of memory allocation on Intel / Micron 3D FG NAND chips is 84.9%, and on Samsung 3D V-NAND 48-layer crystals
- 70%. TechInsights also reports that its experts have made a number of interesting finds in the structure of Intel 3D XPoint memory, which they promise to tell soon.
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