VNAND

VNAND, short for Vertical NAND, is a non-volatile flash memory architecture developed and marketed prominently by Samsung Electronics. In VNAND, memory cells are arranged in multiple layers stacked vertically, forming a three-dimensional (3D) array. This vertical stacking increases storage density beyond traditional planar (2D) NAND and reduces cell-to-cell interference by shortening charge travel paths. Most VNAND generations use charge-trap flash (CTF) technology, with cells available in multi-level configurations such as MLC and TLC, and later higher-density schemes. As process nodes shrink and layer counts rise, VNAND can deliver higher capacities with improved endurance and power efficiency compared with equivalent planar NAND.

Samsung introduced V-NAND as a branded form of 3D NAND in the early 2010s, initially shipping chips with around 24 stacked layers and later expanding to 32, 64, and beyond. The VNAND family has been adopted widely in consumer and enterprise solid-state drives, USB sticks, memory cards, and embedded storage products. Other flash manufacturers followed with similar 3D NAND offerings often referred to as 3D NAND or Vertical NAND.

Advantages include higher density at a given die size, reduced interference between neighboring cells, improved read/write performance, and better endurance characteristics for mobile and server workloads. Limitations include greater manufacturing complexity and higher initial cost per wafer, though these are offset by higher yields at scale. VNAND is a cornerstone technology in modern SSDs and other flash-based storage devices, contributing to sustained growth in flash storage capacity across consumer and enterprise markets.