Kioxia Corporation, a world leader in memory solutions, announced today that it was awarded the 2021 Invention Prize from the National Commendation for Invention of semiconductor flash memory extension-of-life-span technology (patent no. 4461170). Dating back to 1919, the National Commendation for Invention is a Japanese program dedicated to promoting science, technology and industry that recognizes outstanding inventions, ideas and designs.

Awardees (all Kioxia SSD Division employees):

• Kazuya Kitsunai, Specialist
• Shinichi Kanno, Chief Specialist
• Hirokuni Yano, Group Manager
• Toshikatsu Hida, Chief Specialist
• Junji Yano, Chief Specialist

Kioxia’s award-winning technology provides a breakthrough method for extending the life of flash memory in SSDs, which is increasingly needed in data centers to meet the growing demand for high-capacity, high-reliability storage.

In contrast to conventional wear-leveling technology, which equalizes the number of times data is erased in each memory cell, the new technology minimizes data-erasure intervals that can shorten flash-memory life. Kioxia’s technology secures a certain period of erasure intervals across memory cells by distributing data to areas that have been empty longer, which prevents over-load to one specific area. Additionally, the technology classifies long-existing data as cold data, which is unlikely to be rewritten, and transfers that data to empty areas where erasures are relatively frequent, thereby preventing rewriting from being concentrated in specific areas over short periods.

Kioxia’s breakthrough technology also earned an Invention Encouragement Prize from the Local Commendation for Invention of Kanto in 2020. In addition, Kioxia received the 2020 Imperial Invention Prize, the program’s highest-ranking award, from the National Commendation for Invention for a high-density 3D flash-memory device and related manufacturing technology.

Kioxia, guided by its mission of uplifting the world with memory, is committed to research and technology development that brings value to people across the world.

About Kioxia

Kioxia is a world leader in memory solutions, dedicated to the development, production and sale of flash memory and solid-state drives (SSDs). In April 2017, its predecessor Toshiba Memory was spun off from Toshiba Corporation, the company that invented NAND flash memory in 1987. Kioxia is committed to uplifting the world with memory by offering products, services and systems that create choice for customers and memory-based value for society. Kioxia's innovative 3D flash memory technology, BiCS FLASH™, is shaping the future of storage in high-density applications, including advanced smartphones, PCs, SSDs, automotive and data centers.

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