July 29, 2025 /SemiMedia/ — Kioxia said it has started shipping samples of its ninth-generation BiCS FLASH 3D NAND chip, with mass production scheduled before the end of its current fiscal year in March 2026.

The 512Gb TLC NAND product is built using a 120-layer stacking process based on an enhanced version of the fifth-generation BiCS architecture and advanced CMOS technology. Compared to its predecessor, the chip delivers a 61% improvement in write performance and a 12% boost in read speed, while write and read power efficiency improved by 36% and 27%, respectively.

The new NAND also integrates the latest Toggle DDR6.0 interface, offering data transfer speeds up to 3.6Gb/s — a key feature for high-performance mobile and AI-driven applications.

Manufacturing will take place at Kioxia’s Yokkaichi plant in Japan. The company expects this generation of NAND to be deployed in smartphones and other power-sensitive devices that demand high-speed data access and low latency.

As global demand for AI, mobile storage, and edge computing intensifies, Kioxia aims to strengthen its position in the competitive NAND flash market through technological upgrades and vertical integration in memory manufacturing.