“With our 12nm-class 32Gb DRAM, we have secured a solution that will enable DRAM modules of up to 1-terabyte (TB), allowing us to be ideally positioned to serve the growing need for high-capacity DRAM in the era of AI (Artificial Intelligence) and big data,” said SangJoon Hwang, Executive Vice President of DRAM Product & Technology at Samsung Electronics. “We will continue to develop DRAM solutions through differentiated process and design technologies to break the boundaries of memory technology.”

A 500,000 Fold Increase in DRAM Capacity Since 1983

Having developed its first 64-kilobit (Kb) DRAM in 1983, Samsung has now succeeded in enhancing its DRAM capacity by a factor of 500,000 over the last 40 years.

Samsung’s newest memory product, developed using cutting-edge processes and technologies to increase integration density and design optimization, boasts the industry’s highest capacity for a single DRAM chip and offers double the capacity of 16Gb DDR5 DRAM in the same package size.

Previously, DDR5 128GB DRAM modules manufactured using 16Gb DRAM required the Through Silicon Via (TSV) process. However, by using Samsung’s 32Gb DRAM, the 128GB module can now be produced without using the TSV process, while reducing power consumption by approximately 10% compared to 128GB modules with 16Gb DRAM. This technological breakthrough makes the product the optimal solution for enterprises that emphasize power efficiency, such as data centers.

With its 12nm-class 32Gb DDR5 DRAM as a foundation, Samsung plans to continue expanding its lineup of high-capacity DRAM to meet the current and future demands of the computing and IT industry. Samsung will reaffirm its leadership in the next-generation DRAM market by supplying the 12-nm-class 32Gb DRAM to data centers as well as to customers that require applications like AI and next-generation computing. The product will also play an important role in Samsung’s continued collaboration with other key industry players.

Mass production of the new 12nm-class 32Gb DDR5 DRAM is scheduled to begin by the end of this year.

To find out more about Samsung’s DRAM products, visit Samsung Semiconductor website.

¹ DDR5 DRAM: Double-Data Rate 5 Dynamic Random-Access Memory.

“Using differentiated process technology, Samsung’s industry-leading 12nm-class DDR5 DRAM delivers outstanding performance and power efficiency,” said Jooyoung Lee, Executive Vice President of DRAM Product & Technology at Samsung Electronics. “Our latest DRAM reflects our continued commitment to leading the DRAM market, not only with high-performance and high-capacity products that meet computing market demand for large-scale processing but also by commercializing next-generation solutions that support greater productivity.”

Compared to the previous generation, Samsung’s new 12nm-class DDR5 DRAM reduces power consumption by up to 23% while enhancing wafer productivity by up to 20%. Its outstanding power efficiency makes it the ideal solution for global IT companies that want to reduce the energy consumption and carbon footprint of their servers and data centers.

Samsung’s development of 12nm-class process technology was made possible thanks to the use of a new high-κ material that helps increase cell capacitance. High capacitance results in a significant electric potential difference in the data signals, which makes it easier to accurately distinguish them. The company’s efforts to lower operating voltage and reduce noise have also helped deliver the optimal solution that customers need.

Boasting a maximum speed of 7.2 gigabits per second (Gbps) — translating into speeds that can process two 30GB UHD movies in about a second — Samsung’s 12nm-class DDR5 DRAM lineup will support a growing list of applications including data centers, artificial intelligence, and next-generation computing.

Samsung completed its 16-gigabit DDR5 DRAM evaluation for compatibility with AMD last December, and continues to collaborate with global IT companies to drive innovation in the next-generation DRAM market.

Samsung Electronics today announced the development of its 16-gigabit (Gb) DDR5 DRAM built using the industry’s first 12-nanometer (nm)-class process technology, as well as the completion of product evaluation for compatibility with AMD.

“Our 12nm-range DRAM will be a key enabler in driving market-wide adoption of DDR5 DRAM,” said Jooyoung Lee, Executive Vice President of DRAM Product & Technology at Samsung Electronics. “With exceptional performance and power efficiency, we expect our new DRAM to serve as the foundation for more sustainable operations in areas such as next-generation computing, data centers and AI-driven systems.”

“Innovation often requires close collaboration with industry partners to push the bounds of technology,” said Joe Macri, Senior VP, Corporate Fellow and Client, Compute and Graphics CTO at AMD. “We are thrilled to once again collaborate with Samsung, particularly on introducing DDR5 memory products that are optimized and validated on ‘Zen’ platforms.”

This technological leap was made possible through the use of a new high-κ material that increases cell capacitance and proprietary design technology that improves critical circuit characteristics. Combined with advanced, multi-layer extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, the new DRAM features the industry’s highest die density, which enables a 20 percent gain in wafer productivity.

Leveraging the latest DDR5 standard, Samsung’s 12nm-class DRAM will help unlock speeds of up to 7.2 gigabits per second (Gbps). This translates into processing two 30 gigabyte (GB) UHD movies in just one second.

The new DRAM’s exceptional speed is matched by greater power efficiency. Consuming up to 23 percent less power than the previous DRAM, the 12nm-class DRAM will be an ideal solution for global IT companies pursuing more environment-friendly operations.

With mass production set to begin in 2023, Samsung plans to broaden its DRAM lineup built on this cutting-edge 12nm-class process technology into a wide range of market segments as it continues to work with industry partners to support the rapid expansion of next-generation computing.

This year’s event, attended by more than 800 customers and partners, featured presentations from Samsung’s Memory and System LSI business leaders — including Jung-bae Lee, President and Head of Memory Business; Yong-In Park, President and Head of System LSI Business; and Jaeheon Jeong, Executive Vice President and Head of Device Solutions (DS) Americas Office — on the company’s latest advancements and its vision for the future.

System LSI Business Highlights

In the morning session of this year’s Tech Day, the System LSI Business emphasized its goal of becoming a ‘total solution fabless’ through maximizing the synergy between its unique and wide-range product lineup. As Samsung Electronics’ fabless IC design house, the System LSI Business currently offers around 900 products, which include SoC (System on Chip), image sensor, modem, display driver IC (DDI), power management IC (PMIC) and security solutions.

The System LSI Business not only makes leading individual products, but is also a total solution provider that can merge the various logic technologies into one platform, in order to deliver optimized solutions to customers.

“In an age that requires machines to learn and think as people do, the importance of logic chips, which play the roles of the brain, heart, nervous system and eyes, is growing to unprecedented levels,” said Yong-In Park, President and Head of System LSI Business at Samsung Electronics. “Samsung will converge and combine its technology embedded in various products like SoC, sensor, DDI and modem, in order to lead the Fourth Industrial Revolution as a total solution provider.”

▲ Yong-In Park, President and Head of System LSI Business, is giving his keynote speech at Samsung Tech Day 2022.

A Vision of Chips With Human-Like Performance

The Fourth Industrial Revolution was a key theme in System LSI’s Tech Day sessions. The System LSI Business’ logic chips are crucial physical foundations of Hyper-Intelligence, Hyper-Connectivity and Hyper-Data, which are the key areas of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Samsung Electronics aims to enhance the performance of these chips to a level at which they can carry out human tasks just as well as people can.

With this vision in mind, the System LSI Business is focusing on improving the performance of its essential IP like NPU (Neural Processing Unit) and modem, as well as innovating CPU (Central Processing Unit) and GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) technology by collaborating with global industry leading companies.

The System LSI Business is also continuing its work on ultra-high resolution image sensors so that its chips can capture images as the human eye does, and also has plans for sensors that can play the role of all five of the human senses.

Next-Generation Logic Chips Showcased

Samsung Electronics revealed a number of advanced logic chip technology for the first time at the Tech Day booth, including 5G Exynos Modem 5300, Exynos Auto V920 and QD OLED DDI, which are essential parts of various industries such as mobile, home appliance and automotive.

Chips that were newly released or announced this year including the premium mobile processor Exynos 2200 were also on display, along with the 200MP ISOCELL HP3 — the image sensor with the industry’s smallest 0.56-micrometer (μm)-pixels. Built on the most advanced 4-nanometer (nm) EUV (extreme ultraviolet lithography) process and combined with cutting-edge mobile, GPU and NPU technology, the Exynos 2200 provides the finest experience for smartphone users. The ISOCELL HP3, with a 12 percent smaller pixel size than the predecessor’s 0.64μm, can enable an approximately 20 percent reduction in camera module surface area, allowing smartphone manufacturers to keep their premium devices slim.

Samsung showcased its ISOCELL HP3 in action by showing the attendees of Tech Day the picture quality of photographs taken with a 200MP sensor camera, as well as demonstrating the workings of System LSI’s fingerprint security IC for biometric payment cards that combines a fingerprint sensor, Secure Element (SE) and Secure Processor, adding an extra layer of authentication and security in payment cards.

Memory Business Highlights

In a year marking 30 years and 20 years of leadership in DRAM and NAND flash memory respectively, Samsung unveiled its fifth-generation 10nm-class (1b) DRAM as well as eighth- and ninth-generation Vertical NAND (V-NAND), affirming the company’s commitment to continue providing the most powerful combination of memory technologies over the next decade.

Samsung also emphasized how the company will demonstrate greater resilience through collaborative partnerships in the face of new industry challenges.

“One trillion gigabytes is the total amount of memory Samsung has made since its beginning over 40 years ago. About half of that trillion was produced in the last three years alone, indicating just how fast digital transformation is progressing,” said Jung-bae Lee, President and Head of Memory Business at Samsung Electronics. “As advances in memory bandwidth, capacity and power efficiency enable new platforms and these, in turn, stimulate more semiconductor innovations, we will increasingly push for a higher level of integration on the journey toward digital coevolution.”

▲ Jung-bae Lee, President and Head of Memory Business, is giving his keynote speech at Samsung Tech Day 2022.

DRAM Solutions to Advance Data Intelligence

Samsung’s 1b DRAM is currently under development with plans for mass production in 2023. To overcome challenges in DRAM scaling beyond the 10nm range, the company has been developing disruptive solutions in patterning, materials and architecture, with technology like High-K material well underway.

The company then highlighted upcoming DRAM solutions such as 32Gb DDR5 DRAM, 8.5Gbps LPDDR5X DRAM and 36Gbps GDDR7 DRAM that will bring new capabilities to data center, HPC, mobile, gaming and automotive market segments.

Expanding beyond conventional DRAM, Samsung also underscored the importance of tailored DRAM solutions such as HBM-PIM, AXDIMM and CXL that can fuel system-level innovation in better handling the explosive growth of data worldwide.

1,000+ V-NAND Layers by 2030

Since its inception a decade ago, Samsung’s V-NAND technology has progressed through eight generations, bringing 10 times the layer count and 15 times the bit growth. Samsung’s most recent, 512Gb eighth-generation V-NAND features a bit density improvement of 42%, attaining the industry’s highest bit density among 512Gb triple-level cell (TLC) memory products to date. The world’s highest capacity 1Tb TLC V-NAND will be available to customers by the end of the year.

The company also noted that its ninth-generation V-NAND is under development and slated for mass production in 2024. By 2030, Samsung envisions stacking over 1,000 layers to better enable data-intensive technologies of the future.

As AI and big data applications drive the need for faster and higher-capacity memory, Samsung will continue to leapfrog bit density by accelerating the transition to quad-level cell (QLC), while further enhancing power efficiency in support of more sustainable customer operations worldwide.

More Far-Reaching Solutions Amidst Greater Collaboration

Samsung introduced an extensive portfolio of storage solutions spanning data center, enterprise server, mobile, client, consumer and automotive applications. The company highlighted its high-performance, low-power computational storage optimized for AI and how it can contribute to eco-conscious computing. Samsung also presented a new DRAM-less SSD, the PM9C1a, which supports both PCIe 4.0 and 5.0.

Samsung then shared aggressive plans to lead the industry in intelligent mobility solutions. The company discussed its wide-ranging memory offerings designed for every modern automotive function, from in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), autonomous driving (AD) and advanced driver assisted systems (ADAS), clusters and gateways to telematics. Since entering the automotive memory market in 2015, Samsung has been rapidly growing its market presence with the intent of becoming the largest automotive memory provider by 2025.

Reaffirming its overriding goals of enhancing customer value and pursuing a customer-oriented development philosophy, Samsung stressed its intent to further expand its ecosystem partnerships. To stimulate more widespread open innovation, Samsung revealed a key element of its blueprint for greater customer collaboration. The company will open a Samsung Memory Research Center (SMRC) where customers and partners can test and verify Samsung memory and software solutions in various server environments. Beginning with the opening of its first SMRC in Korea in the fourth quarter of this year, Samsung plans to later launch additional hubs in the U.S. and around the world, in collaboration with ecosystem partners like Red Hat and Google Cloud.

Future-First Memory Solutions for Data-Driven Innovation

With the development of their DDR5 solution, Samsung, a company known for changing the landscape of the global dynamic random access memory (DRAM) market, has introduced yet another generational shift in the IT industry. Furthermore, following the release earlier this year of CPUs that support DDR5, tremendous change is expected in the computing landscape, too, with growth expected to encompass gaming and mainstream PCs as well.

Compared to its predecessor which hit the market in 2013, DDR4, DDR5 DRAM boasts twice the speed and four times the capacity, at 4800Mpbs and 512GB respectively.¹ This next-generation high-performance memory allows networks to handle the soaring amounts of data generated by cloud computing, AI and autonomous driving systems. Unlike DDR4, DDR5 directly incorporates a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) into a dual in-line memory module (DIMM), resulting in a 30 percent increase in power efficiency on the module level and a more stable power supply.

Data centers are the main users of DDR5, since, in order to work at their full potential, they require low-power, high-performance memory as they consume large amounts of energy to perform operations and keep servers cool. Starting from the third quarter of this year, existing DRAMs for servers are set to steadily be replaced by DDR5, a shift that could help data centers stay cost-efficient and encourage sustainable, eco-friendly development.

Going beyond the performance limitations of existing DRAMs, DDR5 will be pivotal in leading data-driven innovation in terms of speed, capacity and eco-friendliness. In order to learn more about the new world DDR5 is helping to build, take a look at the video below.

¹ These figures concern modules for servers.

Samsung Electronics, the world leader in advanced memory technology, today announced that it has begun mass producing the industry’s smallest, 14-nanometer (nm), DRAM based on extreme ultraviolet (EUV) technology. Following the company’s shipment of the industry-first EUV DRAM in March of last year, Samsung has increased the number of EUV layers to five to deliver today’s finest, most advanced DRAM process for its DDR5 solutions.

“We have led the DRAM market for nearly three decades by pioneering key patterning technology innovations,” said Jooyoung Lee, Senior Vice President and Head of DRAM Product & Technology at Samsung Electronics. “Today, Samsung is setting another technology milestone with multi-layer EUV that has enabled extreme miniaturization at 14nm — a feat not possible with the conventional argon fluoride (ArF) process. Building on this advancement, we will continue to provide the most differentiated memory solutions by fully addressing the need for greater performance and capacity in the data-driven world of 5G, AI and the metaverse.”

As DRAM continues to scale down the 10nm-range, EUV technology becomes increasingly important to improve patterning accuracy for higher performance and greater yields. By applying five EUV layers to its 14nm DRAM, Samsung has achieved the highest bit density while enhancing the overall wafer productivity by approximately 20%. Additionally, the 14nm process can help bring down power consumption by nearly 20% compared to the previous-generation DRAM node.

Leveraging the latest DDR5 standard, Samsung’s 14nm DRAM will help unlock unprecedented speeds of up to 7.2 gigabits per second (Gbps), which is more than twice the DDR4 speed of up to 3.2Gbps.

Samsung plans to expand its 14nm DDR5 portfolio to support data center, supercomputer and enterprise server applications. Also, Samsung expects to grow its 14nm DRAM chip density to 24Gb in better meeting the rapidly-growing data demands of global IT systems.