Kioxia and Sandisk formally introduced their 10th-generation BiCS10 3D QLC NAND flash memory device at the Future of Memory and Storage Conference. The companies describe it as achieving the world's highest areal density for 3D NAND, exceeding 37 Gb/mm², which they say represents up to a 60% increase in bit density compared to their 8th-generation QLC NAND.
The new device is built with 332 active layers and features an interface speed of up to 4,800 MT/s (described by the companies as 4.8 Gb/s), enabled by Toggle DDR6.0 and Separate Command Address (SCA) protocol support. This makes it, according to the companies, the industry's first QLC 3D flash memory to reach this interface speed. Neither source discloses the exact storage capacity of the chip; Tom's Hardware speculates, based on comparison to Kioxia's 1Tb BiCS10 3D TLC NAND chip released the prior month, that the QLC device could have a capacity around 1.33 Tb, but notes this is speculative.
The BiCS10 QLC NAND uses CMOS directly Bonded to Array (CBA) technology, which fabricates CMOS logic and the memory array on separate wafers before bonding them together with precision wafer-to-wafer alignment. This approach is said to improve read and write bandwidth compared to the previous generation. The device also incorporates a Power-Isolated Low-Tapped Termination (PI-LTT) technique, which the companies say improves I/O data-out transfer power efficiency without sacrificing signal integrity.
Executives from both companies framed the announcement around the growing demands of AI and cloud infrastructure. Kioxia CTO Hideshi Miyajima said QLC technology enables efficient storage of rapidly expanding data volumes for applications ranging from generative AI to agent-based and physical AI, and that Kioxia will accelerate development toward commercializing its 10th-generation QLC products. Sandisk CTO Alper Ilkbahar said the new QLC NAND delivers simultaneous gains in density, bandwidth, and energy efficiency, establishing what he called a new paradigm for high-capacity flash storage to support next-generation infrastructure applications.
Tom's Hardware notes that because the BiCS10 QLC device is produced using the companies' latest BiCS10 process technology, it should offer both record bit density and lower production costs than competing high-density QLC NAND once yields reach target levels, potentially allowing Kioxia and Sandisk to price ultra-high-capacity SSDs lower than rivals or achieve higher margins at similar prices. The device is primarily intended for data center-grade, AI-oriented SSDs requiring high capacity and performance, and Tom's Hardware notes it remains unclear whether this technology will appear in client SSDs in the near future.