△AI △Metaverse △Expansion of 5G, 6G, etc., exponential data growth is a predicted future. To solve this, we need to move away from traditional memory configurations and embrace the era of big data through next-generation memory innovation. Accordingly, Samsung Electronics, armed with cutting-edge memory technology, has revealed its portfolio and is showing off its technological prowess.

Samsung Electronics unveiled a number of next-generation memory solutions at the 'Flash Memory Summit 2022' held at the Santa Clara Convention Center in the United States on the 2nd (local time).

On this day, Vice President Jinhyuk Choi of Samsung Electronics' Memory Business Division's Solution Development Lab gave a keynote speech on the topic of 'Memory Innovation in the Big Data Era.'

Samsung Electronics explained that with the expansion of services such as artificial intelligence, metaverse, Internet of Things (IoT), future cars (automotive), and 5G/6G, data has increased explosively, and that a phenomenon called “data gravity” is occurring in which the industrial landscape is changing around data.

Innovative advancements in memory technology are needed to △move △store △process △manage such large amounts of data, and next-generation memory solutions have been unveiled, including △'Petabyte storage' that increases space utilization of server systems, △'Memory-Semantic SSD' optimized for artificial intelligence and machine learning (ML), and △'Telemetry' that can stably manage storage.

■'Petabyte storage' that increases space utilization of server systems

Samsung Electronics announced that it is collaborating with global companies to develop various form factors and stack structure technologies for high-capacity SSDs, which will enable the implementation of petabyte-level storage systems.

Petabyte storage dramatically improves storage capacity, allowing customers to process massive amounts of data with a minimal number of servers, enabling them to build systems more efficiently. Additionally, it has the advantage of minimizing energy usage through efficient server operation.

■'Memory Semantic SSD' based on CXL interface optimized for AI/ML
Samsung Electronics also unveiled a 'Memory Semantic SSD' based on the next-generation CXL interface.

CXL (Compute Express Link) is a newly proposed interface to more efficiently utilize accelerators, memory, and storage devices used together with CPUs in high-performance computing systems. 'Memory Semantic SSD' is expected to be the optimal solution in fields that utilize a lot of small-sized data, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Memory semantic SSDs transfer data through the CXL interface while enabling the internal DRAM cache memory to handle small-sized data reads and writes more efficiently.

It is reported that 'Memory Semantic SSD' can improve random read speed and response speed by up to 20 times compared to general SSD in artificial intelligence and machine learning.

■'Telemetry' that manages storage stably

As data grows explosively, the amount of storage needed in data centers is also increasing, and technologies to manage each storage more stably are becoming more important.

Samsung Electronics' 'telemetry' technology is used in environments where SSDs are used.It is a technology that detects possible abnormalities in advance and prevents risks.

It can analyze not only the components inside the SSD such as NAND flash, DRAM, and controller, but also the metadata of the SSD to detect potential issues in advance and support stable server operation for users.

In addition, Samsung Electronics announced that it plans to mass-produce the UFS 4.0 memory, which it developed for the first time in the industry in May, starting this month. The UFS 4.0 memory is known to be equipped with Samsung Electronics' 7th generation V-NAND flash. The 7th generation V-NAND is expected to be the 176-layer V-NAND that Samsung Electronics has applied double-stack technology for the first time, and Samsung Electronics, which has already implemented a 128-layer single-stack, is said to be developing related technologies for mass production of 200-layer NAND flash using double stacking.

Samsung Electronics' UFS 4.0 memory is expected to become a core solution for flagship smartphones that require rapid, large-capacity processing, such as high-resolution content and high-capacity mobile games, and plans to expand its application to all consumer device areas, including mobility and VR/AR, in the future.

In addition, Samsung Electronics also introduced the industry's first mass-produced PCIe 5.0-based enterprise server SSD 'PM1743', 24G SAS-based SSD 'PM1653', smart SSD, and CXL DRAM.

“The explosive growth of data is a huge challenge to the industry, and building an ecosystem in the industry is important to overcome it,” said Choi Jin-hyuk, Executive Vice President of Solution Development at Samsung Electronics’ Memory Business Division. “Samsung Electronics will continue to lead various markets, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, and high-performance computing, through innovative semiconductor solutions tailored to each area of data movement, storage, processing, and management.”