20nm-class
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Samsung's new chip could put 4GB of memory in your next smartphone
Think the 3GB of RAM in the Galaxy Note 3 was a lot? Samsung was only getting started. The company has just unveiled the first 8-gigabit (1GB) low-power DDR4 memory chip, which could lead to 4GB of RAM in a multi-layered, mobile-sized package. Moving to the higher-bandwidth (3.1Gbps) DDR standard should also provide a hefty 50 percent speed boost over existing DDR3-based chips, even though the new silicon uses 40 percent less power than its ancestors. Samsung is only promising mass production of the new RAM sometime in 2014, but it's already clear about the target audience. The technology will go into laptops, smartphones and tablets with Ultra HD displays, where additional memory will be crucial for powering all those extra pixels.
Samsung mass-produces 4-gigabit LPDDR2 memory, aims to make 2GB a common sight in smartphones
Samsung started making 2GB low-power mobile memory last year, but as the 1GB-equipped phone you likely have in your hand shows, the chips weren't built on a wide-enough scale to get much use. The Korean company is hoping to fix that now that it's mass-producing 20-nanometer, 4-gigabit LPDDR2 RAM. Going to a smaller process than the 30-nanometer chips of old will not just slim the memory down by a fifth, helping your smartphone stay skinny: it should help 2GB of RAM become the "mainstream product" by the end of 2013, if Samsung gets its way. New chips should run at 1,066Mbps without chewing up any more power than the earlier parts, too, so there's no penalty for using the denser parts. It's hard to say whether or not the 20nm design is what's leading to the 2GB of RAM in the Japanese Galaxy S III; we just know that the upgraded NTT DoCoMo phone is now just the start of a rapidly approaching trend for smartphones and tablets.
Samsung opens 'most advanced' 20nm-class flash memory production line
Samsung's "20nm-class" designations for flash memory production are frustratingly nonspecific, but smallest processes or not it's ready to crank out more chips than ever. Reuters reports the electronics giant just flipped the switch on its first new production line in five years, one that it's calling "the industry's largest and most advanced memory fabrication facility." It could take up to nine months to get fully up to speed, but the increased production and reduced costs should keep the competition coming Samsung's way for storage no matter what their current legal situation.
