Intel and Micron do 25nm flash dance

More flash in the pan

Joint venture outfit IM Flash Technologies seems set to start manufacturing the world's first 25-nanometer NAND Flash chips. 

The shift to 25nm allows the firm, a collaboration bewteen US chip shops Intel and Micron, to claim the tiddliest production-ready semiconductor process technology in the world.

The joint venture is reported to have sent 8GB samples to a number of manufacturers. Mass production of the 8GB module is expected to start next quarter and will give both companies a significant lead in the booming solid state memory market.

The multi-level-cell silicon that IM Flash has been fiddling with is cheaper to produce than its single-level cell counterpart, assuming the outfit has all its ducks in a row.

The chips were initially scheduled to appear at the end of last year.