Benefiting from the strong growth of smartphones, tablets and enterprise-class SSD applications, NAND Flash demand grew at an annual rate of 46% in 2013. From the process of process transfer, in 2013, 2X nano and 1X nano are still the mainstream process of NAND Flash, but as the NAND Flash process shrinks closer to the physical limit, companies have developed 3D NAND Flash to break through unit area storage. With the limitation of capacity, led by Samsung, Toshiba and Micron, other camps have also accelerated the development of 3D NAND Flash. At present, Samsung Electronics has begun to produce "V-NAND", Toshiba and SanDisk have already launched "BiCS", SK Hynix and Micron, Intel camp also clearly announced that their respective 3D NAND Flash blueprint will be 16 nanometers.

Jibang Technology Yang Wende told reporters that each 3D technology will have its own patents. The reason why Samsung is faster than other manufacturers is that it can produce control chips. While developing NAND Flash, the control chip is also developed simultaneously. The two can be synchronized in time. At the same time, since the entire process is completed within the same company, communication time can be shortened and the efficiency of fault resolution can be improved. Therefore, Yang Wende believes that the competition for flash memory in the future is not only the production of NAND Flash, but also the matching of control chips. Toshiba, SanDisk and Hynix also realized that the independent development of the main control chip can improve the efficiency of the finished product launch. Therefore, since last year, it has also started to develop the main control chip independently.

Li Zhenhua, director of technology research and development of Shenzhen Weiwei Storage Technology Co., Ltd., believes that Samsung is the master because it knows its own Flash. When the new product matures, it will release the main control to the professional company. Because this cost is lower. "The main control is only a small business for Samsung. It requires a lot of manpower and material resources to do it yourself. After the product is mature, there is absolutely no need to do it yourself.

For the future competitive situation, Yang Wende said that although Samsung currently has a leading edge, Samsung will not be dominant in the future competition pattern, and other homes will continue mass production next year, and the big one will not be healthy for the industry. How can giant companies gain greater market share? He said: "In fact, there are only four camps in the flash memory market. The previous core weapons were to increase market share and lowest cost. Now it is to launch products as soon as possible and meet customer requirements. Overall, it is price-oriented from the past. Turning to the current technology-oriented and product-oriented, who will lead the rapid launch of the available total solution in the future, who is the winner."

Wei Song also said that smartphone customers are afraid of only one supplier, so it is unlikely that there will be a big situation. Chinese mobile phone customers will share more competitors. As for the future pattern, Toshiba and Samsung will lead, Hynix and Micron will follow. However, from the perspective of DRAM+NAND, the new Micron Group will rank second, and the future market will be dominated by Samsung, Micron and Hynix.

In the construction of the production line, Yang Wende said that 2D and 3D are still very different. The cost of re-establishing a 3D production line is more cost-effective than moving from 2D to 3D, Toshiba’s No. 5 plant in Japan, and Samsung's 3D factory in Xi'an is a brand new production line, and the equipment is also completely new. At present, the 3D yield is still immature, while the 1X nano yield is relatively high and the cost is low. From the conversion order of the process, there is a 1Y and 1Z nanometer after 1X nanometer, and 1Z will be parallel with 3D. When the 3D unit cost becomes better and the yield becomes higher, it will slowly replace. 1Z.

In addition to the competition of international giants, where are the opportunities for domestic manufacturers? Yang Wende said that the strength of 3D NAND Flash is now the major manufacturers. Domestic companies (including Taiwan) buy wafers with Samsung, Toshiba and Micron, and then do modules, such as Jiang Bolong and Wei Wei. In the past, it has done a good job in consumer markets such as card machines and USB flash drives, but 3D is more enterprise-level applications, which is relatively new and hard for them. In addition, the five major manufacturers control the global wage resources, domestic manufacturers do not have obvious advantages in price negotiations.

It is reported that with the formation of the oligopoly situation, the top five manufacturers are relatively tough on the price of wafers, and domestic companies have to move to 3D NAND Flash, not only to buy wafers, but also to have strong engineering and technical capabilities. Customer service to meet the needs of big data companies, so that their pressure will increase.

Wei Song also said: "They don't have their own wafer. It is not easy to produce 3D NAND Flash. The IP and technology accumulation in the early stage will take time to precipitate. Samsung has a master chip, NAND Flash has a complete machine, and the industry chain is complete. I have been chasing hard, I believe other manufacturers are also empathetic."

Yang Wende said that although domestic manufacturers are difficult to synchronize with international manufacturers in the 3D segment, the NAND Flash market is very big, and Weiwei and Jiang Bolong are very flexible companies, and they do not have to compete for ZTE or Huawei. Large customers, there are still many opportunities to find niche markets.

As a representative of the domestic NAND Flash company, Wei Wei Li Zhenhua told reporters that every evolution of the NAND Flash process is an opportunity for large companies and a challenge for small companies, but large domestic module manufacturers will pay attention to 3D processes. "Our relationship with the original factory is relatively stable. When new samples come out, we will do the design verification of the design and the main control in advance. The key is to look at the upstream 3D NAND yield process."

“The 3D process can reduce the cost of Flash and improve the performance, which will have a positive impact on the competition of the enterprise. Therefore, having a 3D process or a mature 3D process in advance will bring more profit and higher market share to the enterprise. As a domestic NAND Flash enterprise Because of the lack of NAND Flash wafers, it can only cooperate with international companies and be recognized by international manufacturers to participate in international competition," said a domestic storage company respondent.