Chinese Chip Maker Found A Way Around The Sanction

It is not true to conclude that Washington's efforts to slow the Chinese semiconductor progress was successful. In fact, the opposite happened. For instance, China's flash memory giant, Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp (YMTC), just made a small technology leap in its chip design architecture, thanks to closer ties with domestic chip tool providers.

According to a teardown report from Canadian research firm TechInsights, a 512-Gb triple-level cell (TLC) memory chip, containing 160 active layers, was found inside a solid-state drive (SSD) with the name ZhiTai TiPlus, a consumer brand of YMTC. The chip has adopted the latest design structure, called Xtacking4.0.

This could mean that YMTC has narrowed the gap with advanced products in the market in terms of "bit density" due to the hybrid wafer bonding structure and other improvements, TechInsights analyst Jeongdong Choe said in the report. "The bit density looks very advanced compared to quad-level cells' (QLC) chips," Choe noted.

NAND, usualy found in smartphones and other consumer electronics, is a non-volatile flash memory that can hold data even when not connected to a power source.

The memory industry has moved to multiple-level cells to reduce cost and increase capacity. TLC NAND offers a storage of 3 bits per cell and often performs better and lasts longer than QLC SSDs, but TLC NAND can store less data and costs more.

YMTC plans to combine Xtacking4.0 technology using more than 200 layers, according to TechInsights.

However, YMTC has been the target of US export restrictions, meaning it cannot upgrade its 3D NAND wafer fabs with advanced semiconductor equipment and tools from foreign suppliers.

"With the new Xtacking4.0 technology, YMTC seems to [have found] a way to overcome the ban for a while," the note added.

China's top memory chip maker has seen a big increase in the demand for its flash memory products recently, which have become a top choice for local clients, particularly those working on government and military-related projects.