Intel, Micron announce faster NAND flash chips

The two companies have collaborated on a new NAND flash memory technology which is said to speed up data transfer rates fivefold.

Intel and Micron first came together in November 2005 to co-develop new flash technologies, and are already supplying chips through 2010 to Apple, who uses them in various flash-based iPods.

The eight gigabit single-level cell chip is a product of this venture -- known as IM Flash Technologies -- and can read data at up to 200 megabytes per second and write at 100MB/sec.

A spokesperson for the company said that demand for chips in more data-intensive applications is rising, thus making the need for faster technologies ever more important. To get the higher speeds, IM had to redesign the chip architecture and make improvements to the circuitry that handles the reading and writing.

IM is currently sending out samples of the new chip, with mass production expected to begin in the latter half of this year. The new NAND chips meet the specifications of the second version of the Open NAND Flash Interface model.

That spec called for data read rates of 133MB/sec, with hopes this rate would reach 400MB/sec in the third generation, according to ONFI's website.

As with any new technology, the new chips will likely be used only in high-end electronics. But as it sees broader use, like the flash chips before it, prices will come down to a more reasonable level, encouraging even more mainstream use.

Analysts caution, however, that such use could be quite a long way off.