Current technology trends, including the ever-growing mobile traffic, high-quality content, data analyses and IoT platforms all add to the workload of today’s data centers and servers. As such, faster and more reliable memory solutions with heavy-duty capacities are a necessity.

Chip stacking for larger capacities does have clear benefits. However, with conventional packaging techniques that use wire bonding, chip stacks are prone to lag in speed—speed that is especially essential for enterprise servers that handle massive amounts of data. In turn, dies can only be stacked so high, further limiting the chip package capacity.

Through silicon via (TSV) is an advanced chip packaging technology that vertically connects DRAM chip dies using electrodes that penetrate the microns-thick dies through microscopic holes.
The technology marks a breakthrough from traditional wire bonding as it allows for all of the dies in a chip package to maintain their optimum performance which makes higher die stacks possible. A smaller footprint of the physical chip package is an additional bonus.

Samsung announced its TSV DDR4 DRAM in 128GB RDIMM modules for the first time in the industry, which will bring new heights to memory solutions for servers and data centers.

The three most important benefits of this new technology include:

1. Largest Capacity: Samsung’s 128GB TSV DDR4 module doubles the largest capacity of previous DRAM for enterprise servers while continuing to meet the requirements for high speed and reliability.
2. Faster Speeds: By combining TSV technology with 8Gb DRAM die, Samsung’s new TSV DDR4 RDIMM is able to pack in 128GB, meeting the needs of today’s enterprise servers with speeds of up to 2,667 megabits per second (Mbps) and 3,200Mbps. This suggests the possibility of accelerated adoption of TSV in the market, with opportunities for expanded applications in high bandwidth memory (HBM) and consumer products in the future.
3. Better Efficiency: The design of the 128GB TSV DDR4 module is also incredibly innovative. Traditional wire-bond dies are packaged together with a data buffer chip, which regulate the input/output information passing through each DRAM. Samsung’s new 128GB TSV DDR4 module embeds data buffer functions within the master chip in each chip package, producing better performance in a more energy-efficient product. Being manufactured with Samsung’s state-of-the-art 20-nanometer process technology adds to improved performance and energy efficiency, as well. As a result, the 128GB TSV DDR4 reduces the power consumption by half when compared to the previous highest capacity DRAM modules (64GB LRDIMM).

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Samsung Starts Mass Producing Industry’s First 128-Gigabyte DDR4 Modules for Enterprise Servers

Samsung Electronics announced that it is mass producing the industry’s first “through silicon via” (TSV) double data rate-4 (DDR4) memory in 128-gigabyte (GB) modules, for enterprise servers and data centers.

Following Samsung’s introduction of the world-first 3D TSV DDR4 DRAM (64GB) in 2014, the company’s new TSV registered dual inline memory module (RDIMM) marks another breakthrough that opens the door for ultra-high capacity memory at the enterprise level. Samsung’s new TSV DRAM module boasts the largest capacity and the highest energy efficiency of any DRAM modules today, while operating at high speed and demonstrating excellent reliability.

“We are pleased that volume production of our high speed, low-power 128GB TSV DRAM module will enable our global IT customers and partners to launch a new generation of enterprise solutions with dramatically improved efficiency and scalability for their investment,” said Joo Sun Choi, executive vice president, Memory Sales and Marketing, Samsung Electronics. “We will continue to expand our technical cooperation with global leaders in servers, consumer electronics and emerging markets, where consumers can benefit from innovative technology that enhances their productivity and the overall user experience.”

The 128GB TSV DDR4 RDIMM is comprised of a total of 144 DDR4 chips, arranged into 36 4GB DRAM packages, each containing four 20-nanometer (nm)-based 8-gigabit (Gb) chips assembled with cutting-edge TSV packaging technology.

Conventional chip packages interconnect die stacks using wire bonding, whereas in TSV packages, the chip dies are ground down to a few dozen micrometers, pierced with hundreds of fine holes and vertically connected by electrodes passing through the holes, allowing for a significant boost in signal transmission. In addition to capitalizing on the industry’s highest capacity and TSV’s advanced circuitry, Samsung’s 128GB TSV DDR4 module has a special design through which the master chip of each 4GB package embeds the data buffer function to optimize module performance and power consumption.

As a result, Samsung’s advanced 128GB TSV DDR4 RDIMM provides a low-power solution for next-generation servers with speeds at up to 2,400 megabits per second (Mbps), achieving nearly twice the performance, while cutting power usage by 50 percent, compared to using the previous highest capacity DRAM modules ─ 64GB LRDIMMs, whose four-chip package stacks are hampered by power and speed limitations caused by their use of conventional wire bonding.

Samsung is responding to growing demand for ultra-high capacity DRAM by accelerating production of TSV technology in the market and quickly ramping up 20nm 8Gb DRAM chips to improve manufacturing productivity. In solidifying its technology leadership and expanding the market for premium memory solutions, the company plans to provide a complete lineup of its new high-performance TSV DRAM modules within the next several weeks including 128GB load reduced DIMMs (LRDIMMs).

In addition, Samsung will continue to maintain its technology leadership by introducing TSV DRAM with higher performance. These will include modules with data transfer speeds of up to 2,667Mbps and 3,200Mbps that help to meet intensifying enterprise server needs, while expanding TSV applications into high bandwidth memory (HBM) and consumer products.

To learn more about TSV, read more here.