The “second-generation” 10nm-class, 8-gigabit DRAM chips combine improved energy efficiency and data processing performance and are intended for cloud computing centres, mobile devices and high-speed graphic cards, according to a statement from Samsung. The company also said that it would be moving most of its existing DRAM production capacity to 10nm-class chips in 2018.
This “aggressive” production expansion would “accommodate strong market demand,” said Gyoyoung Jin, president of Memory Business at Samsung Electronics.
The company said that it was not looking to expand chip shipments immediately but was investing to maintain longer-term market position.
The chips are able to deliver a 30% ‘productivity gain’ over Samsung's 1st-generation and the new 8Gb DDR4 can operate at 3,600Mbps per pin, compared to 3,200 Mbps of the company’s 1x-nm 8Gb DDR4.
Samsung has applied new technologies to achieve this improvement, including the use of a high-sensitivity cell data sensing system and a progressive “air spacer” scheme.
A newly devised data sensing system enables a more accurate determination of the data stored in each cell, which leads to a significant increase in the level of circuit integration and manufacturing productivity, while an air spacer has been placed around bit lines to decrease parasitic capacitance. Use of the air spacer enables not only a higher level of scaling, but also rapid cell operation.