Samsung Electronics has developed a third generation of 10-nanometer-class DDR4 memory parts for high performance applications. The Korean chipmaker says this will enable it to ramp up production to meet greater demand.
Samsung said the latest 8Gb DDR4 products were developed within 16 months of mass production starting of its 2nd-generation 10nm-class chips using a 1y-nm process. The latest chips will be manufactured using a newer 1z-nm process without the use of Extreme Ultra-Violet (EUV) processing.
Memories are made of this
Touting 1z-nm as the world’s smallest memory process node, Samsung said that it would improved manufacturing productivity by more than 20 per cent than the previous generation.
This will enable it to respond better to an expected increase in demand for DRAM. Samsung, along with other memory chip firms, saw profits slump recently as demand slowed in the latter half of 2018.
Mass production of the 1z-nm 8Gb DDR4 begins in the second half of this year. Samsung will target the chips at the next generation of enterprise servers and high-end PCs expected in 2020.
Samsung’s first generation of chips made using a process smaller than 20nm was dubbed 1xnm. The second, 1ynm shrank this down to the region of 14nm to 16nm, while this third generation – 1znm – is in the region of 12nm to 14nm.
Development of the 1z-nm DRAM paves the way for the IT industry to transition to next-generation DRAM interfaces such as DDR5, LPDDR5 and GDDR6, Samsung said.
