SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

INTERNATIONAL SOLID STATE CIRCUITS CONFERENCE (ISSCC) — Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC) today announced that it has commenced pilot production of the company’s 512 Gigabit (Gb) three-bits-per-cell (X3) 64-layer 3D NAND (BICS3) chip in Yokkaichi, Japan, with mass production expected in the second half of 2017. The first of its kind, the chip is the latest achievement in a nearly three-decades-long legacy of flash memory industry firsts from the storage leader.

“The launch of the industry’s first 512Gb 64-layer 3D NAND chip is another important stride forward in the advancement of our 3D NAND technology, doubling the density from when we introduced the world’s first 64-layer architecture in July 2016,” said Dr. Siva Sivaram, executive vice president, memory technology, Western Digital. “This is a great addition to our rapidly broadening 3D NAND technology portfolio. It positions us well to continue addressing the increasing demand for storage due to rapid data growth across a wide range of customer retail, mobile and data center applications.”

The 512Gb 64-layer chip was developed jointly with the company’s technology and manufacturing partner Toshiba. Western Digital first introduced initial capacities of the world’s first 64-layer 3D NAND technology in July 2016 and the world’s first 48-layer 3D NAND technology in 2015; product shipments with both technologies continue to retail and OEM customers.

Western Digital will present a technical paper on the advancement in high aspect ratio semiconductor processing that made this technology achievement possible tomorrow, February 7, at the International Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC). Further details can be found by visiting http://isscc.org/.

About Western Digital

Western Digital is an industry-leading provider of storage technologies and solutions that enable people to create, leverage, experience and preserve data. The company addresses ever-changing market needs by providing a full portfolio of compelling, high-quality storage solutions with customer-focused innovation, high efficiency, flexibility and speed. Our products are marketed under the HGST, SanDisk and WD brands to OEMs, distributors, resellers, cloud infrastructure providers and consumers. Financial and investor information is available on the company's Investor Relations website at investor.wdc.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, including expectations for 3D NAND technology, including its development, timing for initial output, commercial volume production, product sampling and shipment, capabilities, performance improvements, applications, capacities and customers that are based on current expectations. There are a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause these forward-looking statements to be inaccurate including, among others: volatility in global economic conditions; business conditions and growth in the storage ecosystem; impact of competitive products and pricing; market acceptance and cost of commodity materials and specialized product components; actions by competitors; unexpected advances in competing technologies; our development and introduction of products based on new technologies and expansion into new data storage markets; risks associated with acquisitions, mergers and joint ventures; difficulties or delays in manufacturing; and other risks and uncertainties listed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including the company's Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on November 8, 2016, to which your attention is directed. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

Western Digital is a registered trademark or trademark of Western Digital Corporation or its affiliates in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other marks are the property of their respective owners. © 2017 Western Digital Corporation or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170206005251/en/