QLC - Quad-Level Cell NAND Flash Technology Overview | Samsung
MPN: QLC ✓ Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $0 | $0.00 |
| 10 | $0 | $0.00 |
| 100 | $0 | $0.00 |
| 500 | $0 | $0.00 |
| 1,000 | $0 | $0.00 |
Drop-in alternatives for QLC — same package, pin-to-pin compatible. Different-package parts requiring PCB rework are excluded.
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K9MUGY8R4A-BCQ0
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View Datasheet →K9LUGY8J7D-BCK0
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View Datasheet →K9KUGY8J7C-BCK0
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$9.55 / Unit
View Datasheet →K9JUGY8J5C-BCK0
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View Datasheet →K9IUGY8J7B-BCK0
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View Datasheet →K3KL3L30DM-BGCU
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View Datasheet →QLC Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Technology | Quad-Level Cell (QLC) NAND Flash |
| Bits per Cell | 4 bits (16 charge states) |
| Density vs TLC | 2x TLC in same footprint |
| Relative Cost per GB | Lowest of SLC/MLC/TLC/QLC |
| Endurance vs TLC | Lower (fewer P/E cycles than TLC) |
| Target Workload | Read-centric / read-intensive |
| ECC Requirement | Strong ECC required (16 charge-state margins) |
| RoHS Status | unknown |
QLC [data_needed: package type] Pin Configuration Guide
Complete pinout information for QLC ([data_needed: package type] package). This digital IC includes GPIO, communication interfaces (UART, SPI, I2C), and power pins. Refer to the manufacturer datasheet for alternate pin functions and configuration options. Essential for embedded system design and PCB layout.
![[data_needed: package type] package pinout diagram for QLC](/assets/package-diagrams/default.svg?v=1788069619)
No detailed pinout data available for QLC.
Refer to the datasheet for full pin configuration.
Safe Operating Area (SOA) & Thermal Characteristics
No official SOA curve available for this digital IC. Always operate within absolute maximum ratings specified in the datasheet. Ensure adequate cooling and derate as needed.
Typical Applications
QLC is suitable for 6 applications: Hyperscale Object Storage, AI Training Dataset Repositories, Cold and Archival Storage, Media Streaming Caches, Home and SMB NAS Drives, Big Data Analytics Scratch Tiers.
Hyperscale Object Storage
QLC NAND is the media of choice for hyperscale object storage because read-centric access patterns match QLC's strengths: four bits per cell yields the highest density and lowest cost per gigabyte of any mainstream NAND type. Deployed in U.2/E1.S and E3.S form factors, QLC SSDs replace capacity HDDs in object stores, cutting power draw and rack space per petabyte. The engineering trade-off is endurance - object stores that overwrite frequently must tier hot data to TLC, while cold data benefits from QLC's economics. Controllers mitigate QLC's slow sustained writes via SLC caches and direct-to-NAND write techniques.
Recommended
AI Training Dataset Repositories
AI training pipelines read large fixed datasets repeatedly with few writes, which is an ideal QLC profile. QLC SSDs let teams store multi-terabyte image, video, and text corpora on flash, accelerating epoch reloads versus HDD-based storage. According to enterprise deployment guides, the critical design step is workload profiling to prevent the checkpointing wear trap: frequent checkpoint writes to identical logical blocks exhaust QLC P/E cycles prematurely. Placing checkpoints on a small TLC or SLC cache tier while keeping the dataset on QLC yields optimal total cost of ownership and throughput.
Recommended
Cold and Archival Storage
Archival data is written once and read rarely, making QLC NAND's minimal-write profile a natural fit. Compared with tape and HDD archives, QLC delivers instant random access, no mechanical latency, and per IDTechEx analysis superior power efficiency and operational simplicity. Density advantages - twice TLC per cell area - let archival arrays pack more terabytes per rack unit, lowering both capex and data center floor-space costs. Designers should enable periodic data refresh and strong ECC so charge drift over long retention windows does not breach QLC's tight 16-state voltage margins.
Recommended
Media Streaming Caches
Streaming platforms write content once and serve it millions of times - the archetypal read-centric workload that QLC NAND was designed for. QLC-based cache and origin tiers cut cost per streamed terabyte versus TLC while sustaining the random-read throughput CDN edges require. Samsung's Intelligent TurboWrite, described in the 860 QVO white paper, buffers writes in a faster SLC region to mask QLC's slower direct programming. Capacity planners should size the write buffer against ingest rates so the QLC layer never becomes the ingest bottleneck during bulk content onboarding.
Recommended
Home and SMB NAS Drives
Consumer and SMB NAS products use QLC NAND to offer multi-terabyte flash storage at hard-disk-like prices. Home media libraries, backups, and surveillance footage are write-light and read-mostly, matching QLC's endurance envelope. Samsung's 860 QVO demonstrated that QLC with TurboWrite can match or exceed TLC-drive performance in typical NAS access patterns despite the four-bits-per-cell penalty. Integrators should enable TRIM, monitor SMART wear indicators, and avoid swap/log placement on QLC volumes to maximize drive life in always-on NAS enclosures.
Recommended
Big Data Analytics Scratch Tiers
Analytics frameworks such as Spark and large data-lake query engines benefit from QLC-based capacity tiers holding intermediate datasets and historical partitions. Reads of historical partitions dominate; writes concentrate in relatively small append operations, which controller write buffers absorb. QLC's density allows keeping more raw data on flash, cutting the latency gap between hot NVMe tiers and cold HDD/object tiers. Engineering teams should partition hot shuffle files onto TLC storage and pin cold partitions to QLC, per 2026 enterprise deployment guidance on workload profiling and TCO.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for QLC — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | K9MUGY8R4A-BCQ0 | K9LUGY8J7D-BCK0 | K3KL3L30DM-BGCU |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | [DATA_NEEDED] | [DATA_NEEDED] | [DATA_NEEDED] | BGA (BGCU) |
| Brand | Samsung Electronics (technology identifier) | Samsung Electronics | Samsung Electronics | Samsung Electronics |
| Bits per Cell | 4 (QLC) | 4 (QLC) | 4 (QLC) | 4 (QLC) |
| Target Workload | Read-centric | Read-centric / enterprise | Read-centric / enterprise | Client/embedded QLC |
| Endurance vs TLC | Lower | Lower | Lower | Lower |
| Cost per GB | Lowest (family-wide) | [DATA_NEEDED] | [DATA_NEEDED] | [DATA_NEEDED] |
| Interface | [DATA_NEEDED] | NAND toggle/ONFI (die) | NAND toggle/ONFI (die) | [DATA_NEEDED] |
| Capacity | [DATA_NEEDED] | [DATA_NEEDED] | [DATA_NEEDED] | [DATA_NEEDED] |
Key Differentiators
- Highest density per cell in mainstream NAND (vs TLC NAND)
- HDD replacement economics for read tiers (vs HDD arrays)
- Honest trade-off: lowest endurance (vs TLC NAND)
Design Notes
Never place checkpoint files, swap, database redo logs, or other repeatedly overwritten data directly on QLC NAND. Because QLC cells must resolve 16 charge states, wear from repeated program/erase cycles accumulates far faster than on TLC. 2026 enterprise deployment guides describe the resulting 'checkpointing wear trap' as the leading cause of premature QLC failure; profile your write workload and tier hot writes to TLC/SLC before committing to QLC.
QLC's tight voltage margins between adjacent charge states make error rates the highest in the NAND family. Select a controller with strong LDPC ECC and read-retry support rated for 4-bit-per-cell operation, and budget margin for read-disturb over the drive's life. Undershooting ECC requirements manifests as uncorrectable-bit-error growth during retention testing, so validate retention at maximum operating temperature, not just at room temperature.
Retention and read-retry frequency on QLC degrade at elevated temperature; keep sustained NAND die temperatures within the manufacturer's rated operating range with airflow over high-density SSD form factors (E1.S/E3.S). Estimated: high-density QLC SSDs in closed U.2 bays can run 10-20C above ambient without directed airflow, accelerating charge loss in the 16-state cell structure - verify with vendor thermal guidelines.
Compliance Information
QLC is a technology identifier, not a part number; compliance must be verified per specific MPN (e.g., Samsung K9-UGY8 series) from the manufacturer product page.
