Major NAND flash chip vendors have had over 60% of their production capacities utilize 64/72-layer 3D NAND process technology, helping 3D NAND become a mainstream technology, according to industry observers.

Samsung Electronics has boosted its 3D NAND manufacturing to 85% as a proportion of its total NAND chip output, the observers said. Toshiba with its technology partner Western Digital also has as high as 75% of output using 3D NAND process technology, the observers indicated.

Micron Technology and SK Hynix have had 90% and 60%, respectively, of their total NAND chip output built using 3D NAND technology, the observers said.

In addition, these major NAND chip vendors will have new production lines come online in 2019, while China-based startups such as Yangtze Memory Technologies (YMTC) will also start running their new fabs, the observers suggested. As a result, the global NAND flash bit output will continue growing to drag down memory prices further, the observers said.

NAND flash prices have fallen over 40% since 2018, when major chip vendors migrate to 3D NAND manufacturing, the observers added.

The ramp-up of 3D NAND chips will also encourage device makers to raise the memory content of their devices. For example, smartphone makers are set to upgrade the storage specs of their flagship models to 512GB in 2019, the observers noted.

In addition to embedded storage devices for use in handsets, SSDs will be another major market for NAND flash chips. NAND chip demand for SSDs for use in consumer electronics, data centers and mobile devices will continue to stay robust in 2019, the observers said.