Samsung has launched a new generation of NAND memory using FeFET technology, capable of writing 5 bits of data per cell and consuming 96% less power than before.

 

Samsung Electronics has announced a major breakthrough in memory research. A team of researchers from the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT) has developed a new NAND technology using pheroelectric transistors (FeFETs) that reduces power consumption by up to 96% compared to traditional NAND. This research, published in the prestigious journal Nature, reflects the potential of a next-generation memory architecture that could revolutionize the entire industry in the future.

The core of this technology lies in shifting from traditional charge-trap NAND to a new material, hafnium oxide, which acts as a ferroelectric component. Working in conjunction with a semiconductor oxide, this allows the transistors to “memorize their electrical states,” resulting in a near-zero pass voltage. This means virtually no power is required to read or write data to each layer of the NAND.

Samsung's simulation models show particularly impressive results. Starting with a 286-layer structure that reduces power consumption by approximately 94%, and progressing to a 1,024-layer structure that can reduce it by up to 96%, while simultaneously supporting 5-bit per cell (PLC) data storage – the highest density currently achievable in the NAND industry. This increases both capacity and performance without sacrificing higher power consumption as before.

While research points to exciting new directions, further challenges remain, such as write endurance, manufacturing yield, material stability under high temperatures, and optimized voltage control techniques before industrial-scale production.

The potential of this new generation NAND directly impacts the entire IT industry, from smartphones and notebooks to SSDs, data centers, and large-scale AI systems. More power-efficient memory chips will lead to longer battery life and reduced heat in mobile devices, significantly lower energy costs and cooling burdens for data centers, and enable thin and light device designs and modern storage systems like UFS 5.0 and PCIe 6.0 to operate at their full potential.

With a power reduction of up to 96%, Samsung's FeFET architecture represents a significant milestone in the memory industry. And this could be the first step in designing a new era of hardware that is powerful, energy-efficient, and capable of supporting the rapidly growing world of AI in the next decade.