Solid-state drives (SSD) are much faster to store information on your computer than traditional hard drives, but they are still far from emulating the old technology in terms of cost and capacity.
Now, Intel has promised to improve the so-called SSD (solid-state drive) with new technology with the ability to insert more information into each memory cell.
SSDs use flash memory, a type of chip that stores data in small memory cells. When the flash memory made its debut, each cell could store a zero or one (that is, a single bit). But the improvements have taken that up to 16 bits today.
But this week Intel announced a new technology that would double the data density again, called five-level cells.
“Five-level cells would increase density and reduce the cost beyond four-level cells,” says Frank Hady, who works at Intel’s Non-Volatile Memory Solutions Group.
The measure is important, but surely Intel will not be the only one to innovate. For example, another leader in the flash memory segment, Toshiba, introduced its own five-cell flash memory technology in August. Competition and innovation could result in falling storage prices for PCs, phones, or other devices in a couple of years.
Intel did not say when it will sell the technology or how it will affect its costs. “We are currently conducting feasibility studies,” the company said in a statement.
The manufacturers of flash memory processors have been increasing their capacity with 3D stacking technology that adds dozens of layers to the flash memory cells. The 2019 Intel flash memory stacks 96 layers of four-level cells but expects to move to 144 layers in 2020, the company announced.
