US sanctions are not an obstacle: China secretly created an advanced memory chip for artificial intelligence development

Chinese company YMTC has created the world’s most advanced memory chip, which will enable Beijing to continue developing artificial intelligence despite US sanctions on high-tech supplies. This was reported by South China Morning Post.

A Yangtze Memory Technologies Co (YMTC) memory chip featured in a solid-state drive quietly released in July shows that the manufacturer continues to develop the cutting-edge technology even though the facility is on the US Commerce Department’s Entity List, according to a report from Analytics. TechInsight company. YMTC’s 232-layer QLC 3D NAND die was found in the ZhiTai Ti600 1TB solid-state drive (SSD), which was released in July 2023 without much hype or fanfare. This new QLC die has the highest bit density of any commercially available NAND product at 19.8 Gbits per square millimeter.

What is the feature of 3D NAND memory?

3D NAND memory is at the forefront of memory chip design and is a key component of high-performance computing in applications such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. This is a type of flash memory in which memory cells are arranged vertically in multiple layers, allowing for increased data storage density as well as improving memory performance and reliability. In traditional flash memory, memory cells are arranged horizontally on the same plane. As the transistors used to store data shrink in size, it becomes increasingly difficult to place them close together without causing interference. This limits storage density and can reduce memory performance and reliability.

Some advantages of 3D NAND memory are:

• higher data storage density. 3D NAND memory can store more data per unit area than traditional flash memory; this allows for smaller, higher-performance devices;
• improved performance. 3D NAND memory can read and write data faster than traditional flash memory. This is because memory cells are positioned closer together, which reduces latency;
• longer service life. The lifespan of 3D NAND memory is longer than traditional flash memory. This is because memory cells are arranged vertically; This reduces the number of read and write cycles that must be performed to access data.

3D NAND can help advance AI developments by increasing the amount of training data available. 3D NAND memory allows you to store more data per unit area; This means AI systems can train on larger data sets. This could lead to increased accuracy and efficiency of AI systems. The fact that 3D NAND memory can read and write data faster than traditional flash memory will accelerate the training process of artificial intelligence systems.

Prospects for 3D NAND production in China

According to TechInsights, the launch of an advanced memory chip was an “unexpected technological leap” for YMTC. The recent decline in the memory chip market and the industry’s renewed focus on cost-saving measures may have provided a way for the Chinese company to get ahead by introducing more advanced, higher bit-density chips. The project is expected to use only Chinese equipment, sources said, and YMTC has placed large orders with domestic equipment suppliers, including Beijing-based Naura Technology Group, a leading Chinese maker of engraving tools that is also the main product line of rival US company Lam. Research.

But analysts also noted many bottlenecks in China’s chip manufacturing supply chain, such as the lack of viable local Chinese alternatives for chip manufacturing tools, including lithography systems available from Dutch firm ASML Holding. The Dutch firm has a near monopoly on the world’s most advanced ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines, but is banned from supplying the equipment to Beijing.

Previously Focus He wrote that the SMIC factory used upgraded ASML equipment, specifically deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography systems, to produce the advanced processor in the Huawei smartphone. Sources say the Kirin 9000s were developed using modified versions of Dutch-owned lithography equipment, the sale of which has not yet been banned by sanctions.