Samsung Electronics'ninth-generation V-NAND products feature the smallest cell size and thinnest layer thickness currently available from Samsung, offering advantages in terms of areal density, power consumption, and data input/output speed compared to the previous generation.

According to reports, Samsung has replaced tungsten with molybdenum in its ninth-generation V-NAND metal wiring process. The company has introduced five molybdenum deposition machines for this process, with plans to add 20 more similar devices within the next year.

Molybdenum has characteristics such as high electrical conductivity, low resistance, and excellent durability, which will significantly enhance the data transfer speed, storage density, and durability of V-NAND flash memory. As molybdenum technology becomes more widespread and mature, it is expected to become an important trend in future NAND flash memory manufacturing, driving technological advancement and development across the industry.

Previously, Samsung primarily used tungsten (specifically tungsten hexafluoride) as the metal gate. However, the residual fluorine generated during the tungsten deposition process can damage the structure. Additionally, as the number of layers increases, there is a demand to reduce layer thickness to control the height of the stack. Molybdenum is used to increase the resistivity within transistors, allowing for more layers to be stacked in NAND. The industry has reached the limit of reducing layer height using tungsten, and employing molybdenum can further decrease layer height by 30% to 40%. Using molybdenum can also reduce the latency of NAND.

In the production of the ninth-generation V-NAND, one application uses tungsten (W), while another uses molybdenum. Molybdenum is used in the oxide-nitride-oxide (ONO) structure instead of tungsten. Samsung is sourcing molybdenum from Entegris and Air Liquide, while Merck has also submitted samples to chip manufacturers.

In addition to Samsung Electronics, companies like SK Hynix, Micron, and Kioxia also plan to adopt molybdenum in their NAND production, which means that the tungsten hexafluoride market will inevitably be affected. Besides NAND, molybdenum precursors are also expected to be used in DRAM memory and logic chips.

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