Samsung is the global leader in memory and storage market for PCs and smartphones, and it often brings newer technologies ahead of other brands. The company has now announced that it has started mass producing and shipping the industry's first DRAM modules based on 10nm EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet) fabrication technology.
The new EUV-based DRAM modules have DDR4 speeds, and they have been shipped to Samsung's customers worldwide for evaluation. The South Korean chip giant's 10nm-class (D1x) DDR4 DRAM modules will be used not only in computers and smartphones but also in data centers and enterprise servers.
DRAM chips made using 10nm EUV process brings enhanced performance
Samsung is the first in the world to adopt EUV technology to manufacture DRAM chips as it allows for better scaling by reducing repetitive steps in multi-patterning and improving patterning accuracy when compared to the FinFET process. The new technology brings enhanced performance and shortened development time.
The company will fully deploy 10nm EUV technology for manufacturing all its future-generation DRAM chips. It will be used to make LPDDR4X RAM for smartphones and laptops, and DDR4 RAM for PCs. Samsung will also use the same technology to manufacture LPDDR5 and DDR5 RAM modules in the future.
Samsung expects to start the mass production of EUV-based 16Gb LPDDR5 and 16Gb DDR5 DRAM modules next year with 12-inch D1x wafers. The global memory chip leader will start volume-based mass production at its second semiconductor line in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, in the second half of 2020.
