The Register®  Original URL:  Chip alchemists 'turn cheap
silicon into longer-lasting flash'  Fusion-io sources whisper
NAND witchcraft  By Chris Mellor  Posted in Storage, 4th May
2012 12:46 GMT   SLC, or single-level cell, flash stores one
binary bit per cell and is the fastest form of flash with the
longest working life; think 10,000 raw program-erase (PE) cycles
for a 39 to 30nm process. MLC, or multi-level cell, flash stores
two bits per cell and is cheaper but doesn't last as long; think
5,000 PE cycles at the same 3x nm geometry.  If a flash product
supplier, such as Fusion-io, can buy in MLC flash chips and make
then behave like SLC chips then, although the cost per bit goes
up, its overall costs could possibly go down as it has halved
the number of components it needs to buy in, its profit margin
could go up, and it might be able to price SLC-class product
below its competitors.  The impact on flash chip suppliers could
be profound if this MLC-to-SLC technique is real and becomes
widespread in its us