SK Hynix, the world’s second-largest memory chipmaker, on Wednesday said it has started to mass produce 16-nm 64-gigabit multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash by applying the industry’s thinnest process technology for stronger memory competitiveness.

This will be a smaller, upgraded version of the 16-nm NAND flash chip the company has been mass producing since June after introducing it as the world’s first such memory product.

SK Hynix also has finished developing 128-Gb multi-level cell chips based on the specifications and endurance of 16-nm 64-Gb MLC, which is the highest density for a single MLC chip. Mass production is slated to start in early 2014, the company said.

“After the company developed and started to mass produce the industry’s thinnest 16-nm product, we have now prepared a high-density NAND flash product portfolio thanks to the development of 16-nm 128-Gb MLC,” said Kim Jin-woong, senior vice president of SK Hynix’s Flash Tech Development unit.

Kim added that SK Hynix plans to “actively respond to our customers’ demands with NAND flash products boasting high reliability and endurance.”

Multi-level NAND is a popular solution for applications requiring higher-density storage such as tablets, smartphones and other wireless devices.

By Kim Ji-hyun (jemmie@heraldcorp.com)