2020 Flash Memory Timeline Page 1 of 7 1952 1955 1961 1965 1966 1967 1968 1970 MIT’s Dudley Bell Labs’ Merz and C.T. “Tom” Sah of Dov Frohman writes Edgar A. Sack, Ting Dawon Kahng and Stanford R. Ovshinsky Dov Frohman- Buck creates first Anderson create Fairchild envisions Berkeley PhD thesis L. Chu and others Simon M. Sze invent the announces the Ovonic Bentchkowsky semiconductor NVM monolithic 256-bit floating gate NVM using “Charge Transport and of Westinghouse Non-Volatile Memory Memory Switch, the invents the Erasable from ferroelectric FRAM ferroelectric NVM, charge storage on the Trapping in MNOS use a Metal-Nitride- Floating Gate at Bell basis for 3D XPoint Programmable Read- crystals the first monolithic gate electrode of a MOS Structures and its Oxide-Silicon (MNOS) Labs; this is published as memory as later Only Memory (EPROM) memory chip tetrode transistor Memory Applications” structure as a charge- “A Floating Gate and Its productized by Intel at Intel; this is presented and builds a 9-bit trapping element Application to Memory as Optane at the 1971 IEEE ISSCC, prototype Devices” (Bell System and is published as Technical Journal); “Memory Behavior Simon M. Sze went on in a Floating-Gate to receive the 2014 FMS Avalanche-Injection Lifetime Achievement MOS (FAMOS) Structure” Award in April 1971 (Applied Physics Letters), which John R. Szedon cited the 1967 Kahng/ and Ting L. Chu of Sze Bell Labs Floating Westinghouse propose Gate publication using a charge trap as a nonvolatile memory After work with bit at the IEEE Solid Stanford R. Ovshinsky, State Device Research Intel’s Gordon Moore Conference co-authors article for Electronics Magazine on the first demonstration of Phase Change Memory (PCM), the NVM technique used by 3D XPoint as announced by Intel and Micron in 2015, and as later productized by Intel as Optane Virtual Conference & Expo • November 10-12, 2020 • FlashMemorySummit.com ©2020 Conference Concepts Inc. Email your suggested Timeline additions and changes to [email protected] 2020 Flash Memory Timeline Page 2 of 7 1972 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 Toshiba’s Iizuka, General instrument Hitachi files patent for Hughes Eli Harari of Hughes Eli Harari of Hughes IEEE Solid State Circuits Hughes Masuoka and others ships EAROM, the first NAND-type MROM Microelectronics files Microelectronics Microelectronics publishes paper titled Microelectronics introduce first double- commercial EEPROM Eli Harari patent for first publishes “Conduction publishes “Dielectric “An Electrically Alterable introduces the 3108, layered polysilicon practical floating gate and Trapping of Breakdown in Non-Volatile Memory first CMOS EEPROM memory cell (SAMOS) EEPROM using thin SiO2 Electrons in Highly Electrically Stressed Cell Using Floating Gate 8Kb chip employing with Floating Gate and Fowler Nordheim Stressed Thin Films of Thin Films of Thermal Structure” by Guterman, Fowler Nordheim electrical erase tunneling for program Thermal SiO2” (Applied SiO2” (Journal of Applied Rinawi, Chieu, tunneling at International and erase; Eli Harari Physics Letters) Physics) Holvorson, and McElroy Intel introduces the Conference on Solid went on to receive of Texas Instruments P.C.Y. Chen of Fairchild Hughes 2816, 16Kb HMOS State Devices and the 2012 FMS Lifetime introduces SONOS Microelectronics EEPROM employing Materials Achievement Award charge trap NVM cell introduces first CMOS Fowler Nordheim in IEEE Transactions on NOVRAM 256-bit chip tunneling Electron Devices (non-volatile SRAM) Fujitsu files patent employing Fowler with improvements to Nordheim floating gate Hitachi’s 1975 MROM EEPROM at IEEE ISSCC Hughes introduces 8K-bit EEPROM Intel’s George Perlegos designs the 2816, the first commercially successful EEPROM; George Perlegos went on to receive the 2017 FMS Lifetime Achievement Award ©2020 Conference Concepts Inc. 2020 Flash Memory Timeline Page 3 of 7 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 Annual Revenue > $ 1,600,000 $ 6,400,000 British scientist and SEEQ Technology Intel introduces 2817A First paper describing Exel files patent for first Flash card concept Toshiba’s Fujio Masuoka SunDisk founded to inventor Kane Kramer introduces the 5213, 16Kb EEPROM flash EEPROM NOR Flash cell introduced with ECC presents IEEE IEDM develop new “System designs first digital first EEPROM with presented by Fujio and on-card controller paper on NAND flash Flash” architecture audio player (IXI) based on-chip charge pump Masuoka of Toshiba by Intel memory combining embedded on magnetic bubble for in-system write and at IEEE International controller, firmware Intel forms unit focusing Intel introduces NOR memory chips erase, an invention used Electron Devices and flash memory to on solid state drives flash chips in all flash memory Meeting (IEDM) in emulate disk storage devices San Francisco; Fujio RCA’s VLSI Tech SunDisk files first two Masuoka went on to Symposium paper Ramtron introduces first MLC (Multi-Level Cell) receive the 2013 FMS on first NAND-type commercial FRAM NVM flash patents Lifetime Achievement EEPROM Award JPEG and MPEG standards allowing Intel begins flash economical production process development of digital cameras are ATMEL (Advanced published Technology for Memory Intel samples 1Mb NOR and Logic) is founded flash by George Perlegos Intel and Psion design flash-based mobile PC First flash-based digital camera, Fuji DS-1P, demonstrated 150mm wafers used ©2020 Conference Concepts Inc. 2020 Flash Memory Timeline Page 4 of 7 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 $ 25,600,000 $ 100,000,000 $ 170,000,000 $ 295,000,000 $ 505,000,000 $ 864,805,000 $ 1,860,089,000 $ 2,610,603,000 SunDisk files System Sony introduces Toshiba develops Information Storage Datalight introduces SunDisk introduces Casio introduces the Toshiba introduces Flash patent EReader using flash world’s first 4Mb Devices introduces “Card Trick” flash CompactFlash card QV-11 digital camera SmartMedia Memory memory NAND flash flash-based voice management software with flash rather than Card (also called Solid M-Systems founded and Norris Communications recorder chip film or floppy State Floppy Disk Card) introduces Flash Disk Kodak flash-based Kodak ships Apple introduces NOR introduces Flashback, concept (precursor to camera prototypes DCS-100, its first DCS AMD introduces its first flash-based Newton the first portable digital Mitsubishi introduces Samsung starts shipping flash SSDs); M-Systems shown at $13,000 NOR product PDA voice recorder with DiNOR NAND flash co-founders Dov Moran flash memory NOR flash pricing Zenith, Poqet and Fujitsu introduces its Intel introduces 16Mb SunDisk introduces Kodak DC-25 is and Aryeh Mergi went in parity with DRAM HP palm-sized first NOR product and 32Mb NOR flash 0.5 micron process 34Mb Serial NOR first DSC with on to receive 2018 FMS pricing notebook computers announced Flash—first MLC CompactFlash card Lifetime Achievement M-Systems introduces Intel and Conner using flash memory flash chip for SSD Awards PCMCIA sets TrueFSS, the first flash Peripherals introduce SunDisk introduces Datalight introduces cards shown at Spring applications standard on ATA PC memory card FTL; this jointly-developed 18Mb Serial NOR “FlashFX” flash Intel ships 512Kb and Comdex Card form factor was later adopted by 5MB/10MB ATA flash flash chip for SSD SunDisk changes name management software 1Mb NOR flash and pinout, using the PCMCIA as its FTL disk drive applications to SanDisk supporting NOR and Psion flash-based PC SunDisk “System Flash” NAND in a single driver Intel launches second- AMD introduces M-Systems introduces Flash (NOR and introduced specification for full generation FFS2 5-volt-only NOR using NOR-based DiskOnChip NAND) revenues exceed SanDisk introduces first HDD compatibility Microsoft introduces negative gate erase $1B flash cards with MLC Intel introduces 8Mb Flash File System in joint Intel 1MB and 4MB serial NOR flash chip and 4MB- CompactFlash effort with Intel linear flash PCMCIA 20MB linear flash Association (CFA) Palm introduces flash cards introduced DigiPro introduces memory cards founded memory-based PDA 8MB NOR Flashdisk at Intel introduces 2Mb Intel introduces 1Mb 0.35 micron process Comdex NOR chip “boot lock” NOR flash announced Western Digital and SunDisk introduces with sectors for BIOS $2.6B in flash memory SunDisk pioneer world’s first NOR flash applications—first use revenues, 163,063% NOR-based SSD fully SSD: 20MB 2.5”, fully of internal write state growth in 10 years emulating ATA HDD compatible with machine to manage Conner peripherals flash write algorithm Lexar Media spins off Personal Computer 2.5” ATA HDD from Cirrus Logic Memory Card SunDisk introduces International first serial 9Mb NOR USB Association (USBA) Association (PCMCIA) Flash chip for SSD founded founded applications Silicon Storage PCs begin using flash Technology (SST) for BIOS storage founded to produce Toshiba ships first mass- NOR SuperFlash, produced NAND (4Mb) compatible with a CMOS logic process ©2020 Conference Concepts Inc. 2020 Flash Memory Timeline Page 5 of 7 2000 2002 2004 2001 2003 1997 1998 1999 $ 2,701,678,000 $ 2,492,552,000 $ 4,560,493,000 $ 10,637,231,000 $ 7,594,502,000 $ 7,766,797,000 $ 11,739,282,000 $ 15,610,575,000 SaeHan Information 250nm process Toshiba and SanDisk M-Systems Toshiba and SanDisk Olympus and FujiFilm SanDisk introduces U3 software system for Systems introduces announced create flash memory (working with IBM) announce 1Gb MLC introduce xD-Picture miniSD card USB flash drives flash-based