Japan Semiconductor Innovation 50     (D-10 1980s)

High Density Flash Memory (Toshiba)

The first one-time erasable flash memory concepts were presented at IEDM by Masuoka, then from Toshiba, NOR type in 1984 and NAND type in 1987, respectively. Above all, NAND type provided dramatic integration enhancement, and created big markets through its applications to portable multimedia products, such as digital cameras, digital audio equipment, and mobile phones. Furthermore, Flash memories started to be used for mass storage systems such as SSD and SSHD, which are anticipated to form a large market in the future. Toshiba's contribution to the creation of this large semiconductor markets, as well as establishing their position are to be recognized.

Die photo of NAND type flash memory

Quote from Toshiba HP (Semiconductor & Storage)

Remarks