Solidigm: Low-cost PCIe 4.0 SSDs to be released this year

Solidigm, the name of the new company acquiring the former SSD division of Intel on behalf of SK Hynix, plans to launch the new M.2 SSDs with PCIe 4.0 later this year as the successor to both the 660p and 670p series.

Solidigm SSDs to launch before the end of 2022

At year-end, the sale of Intel’s SSD division to SK Hynix was completed in the first phase. As part of the acquisition, SK Hynix has formed a new subsidiary called Solidigm, headed by former Intel vice president Rob Crooke, which will handle SSD manufacturing in the future.

Following the acquisition, Solidigm already employs more than 2,000 people at 20 locations worldwide, with its headquarters based in San Jose in the US. The company’s first SSDs with PCIe 4.0 connectivity are expected to launch before the end of 2022.

The two affordable retail SSD series for home users mark the successors to the current 660p and 670p with NVMe in the M.2280 form factor and are scheduled to launch before the end of 2022. Unlike the previous series, which still use PCIe 3.0, the new SSDs are said to already rely on PCIe 4.0.

Solidigm plans to continue offering inexpensive SSDs for private users in the future, as it is further stated. For this purpose, they are developing their own PCIe 4.0 SSDs without DRAM. They are supposed to use the PC’s RAM module as a buffer, which should lower the price. Samsung also offers a very similar model with the SSD 980.

SK Hynix and Solidigm work in parallel

Meanwhile, in a interview with Blocks and Files, SK Hynix’s Greg Matson and Avi Shetty came out to talk a bit about the companies’ plans. According to them, the SK Hynix and Solidigm product lines are to continue in parallel.

However, there would be differences in terms of the NAND flash technology used. The floating gate technology previously used by Intel will be continued by Solidigm. Here, the charges for the memory state are stored in electrically isolated polysilicon gates. Solidigm plans to use NAND flash with 144 memory layers and up to four bits per cell (quadruple level cells, QLC).

SK Hynix, on the other hand, relies on a different technology: charge trap, in which films of silicon nitride hold the electrons. Corresponding SSDs of this type are to be used by SK Hynix and Solidigm in the future, primarily in the server and computing center sector. In addition, penta level cell SSD components, which store 5 bits per cell, are planned for the future. However, initially only as special series for companies.