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, a world leader in advanced semiconductor technology, today announced the industry’s first integrated power management ICs (PMICs) — S2FPD01, S2FPD02 and S2FPC01, for the fifth-generation double data rate (DDR5) dual in-line memory module (DIMM).

One major design improvement to the newest generation DRAM solution involves integrating the PMIC into the memory module — previous generations placed the PMIC on the motherboard — offering increased compatibility and signal integrity, and providing a more reliable and sustained performance.

For improved performance efficiency and load-transient responses, Samsung’s new PMICs for DDR5 modules have been equipped with a high-efficiency hybrid gate driver and a proprietary control design (asynchronous-based dual-phase buck control scheme).

This scheme allows the DC voltage to step down from high to low with a fast transient response to changes in the output load current and adapts the conversion accordingly to efficiently regulate its output voltage at near-constant levels. The control scheme also features both pulse width and pulse frequency modulation methods, preventing delays and malfunctions when switching modes.

“With enhanced power efficiency and low output ripple voltage, the new PMICs S2FPD01, S2FPD02 and S2FPC01 allow data centers, enterprise servers and PC applications to take full advantage of their DDR5 performance for highly demanding, memory-intensive tasks,” said Harry Cho, vice president of System LSI marketing at Samsung Electronics.

Two of Samsung’s new DDR5 DIMM PMIC solutions, the S2FPD01 and the S2FPD02, offer optimal performance for today’s data center and enterprise servers that must run heavy analytics, machine and deep learning, and other various computing tasks in real time. The FPD01 is designed for modules with low density; FPD02 for higher density.

In addition, by implementing a high-efficiency hybrid gate driver instead of a linear regulator, Samsung’s new PMICs can operate at up to 91-percent power efficiency.

The S2FPC01, Samsung’s other new PMIC, is tailored for use in desktop or laptop PCs. Designed on a 90-nanometer (nm) process node, the PMIC solution offers a more agile performance in a smaller package.

Samsung’s DDR5 DIMM power management ICs, the S2FPD01, S2FPD02 and S2FPC01, are currently being sampled to customers.