Samsung Delays Mass Production of 430-Layer NAND Flash

According to reports, Samsung Electronics is reportedly reevaluating its mass production roadmap for its next-generation V10 NAND Flash, originally scheduled for the second half of 2025. According to reports, large-scale investment for V10 NAND may now be delayed until the first half of 2026 due to a combination of internal and external challenges.

At the core of the V10 NAND Flash design is a groundbreaking 430-layer cell stack—over 100 layers more than Samsung's current leading-edge V9 NAND, which is estimated to feature around 290 layers. This advancement marks a significant milestone in Samsung's storage technology development, aiming to boost storage density and efficiency.

However, the shift in the production timeline reflects several critical concerns. First, market demand for ultra-high-layer NAND Flash remains uncertain, especially as demand patterns for high-capacity storage fluctuate. Second, the substantial costs associated with deploying entirely new process technologies have triggered internal assessments on investment feasibility. Lastly, technical hurdles—particularly in the area of etching—pose substantial obstacles to scalable manufacturing.

Etching is a crucial semiconductor fabrication step, used to precisely remove materials on wafers to form channel holes. For V10 NAND, the process requires operating at ultra-low temperatures—originally expected to be between -60°C to -70°C—compared to the typical -20°C to -30°C required for existing products. These extreme conditions are intended to improve precision by suppressing chemical reactivity, especially in the absence of protective layers.

Samsung has already acquired ultra-low-temperature etching equipment from leading front-end semiconductor equipment manufacturers, including Lam Research (U.S.) and Tokyo Electron Limited (Japan), and has conducted trial production and quality evaluations. However, initial assessments revealed that directly applying this advanced etching technology to high-volume production remains technically challenging, a view now broadly shared across the industry.

In response, Samsung is collaborating with Lam Research and TEL to refine the etching process by slightly raising operating temperatures, followed by a fresh round of equipment evaluations. These revised assessments are expected to commence in the second half of 2025.

Taking into account the time required for revalidation, equipment optimization, and investment readiness, Samsung's full-scale V10 NAND production is unlikely to begin before the first quarter of 2026. In addition to the technological barriers, the higher upfront capital investment required for new equipment has also become a key factor in the company's cautious approach to advancing V10 NAND manufacturing.