Samsung says it has the future of DRAM sorted after success with new EUV process
- Reference: 1585121588
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/03/25/samsung_euv/
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EUV technology uses light at shorter wavelengths than other chip-making techniques. The result is smaller features and simpler and cheaper manufacturing process.
The Korean giant today said it's already produced one million EUV-packing 10nm DDR4 DRAM chips and that customers liked what they saw.
The South Korean giant added that it would use the new technology to make all future generations of its DRAM, starting with its 10nm and 14nm models. The company expects to use the technology to mass produce next-gen memory technology, DDR5 and LPDDR5, as early as next year.
The first batches of EUV ships emerged from its new V1 fab in Hwaseong, Korea, which opened last month after US$6bn of up-front investment.
But even with that colossal capital outlay, EUV is attractive because it requires fewer [1]mask levels - a mask is a step in the lithography process - which means faster production. The tech can also reduce repetitive steps in the fabrication process and do it more accurately, reducing production times.
Chipmakers have been working towards EUV adoption for years, with companies like Intel touting the technology since [2]as far back as 2001 . But development has been [3]slow and hit more than a few speed bumps . The main problem has been that the new tech is more complex than its predecessors and therefore difficult to put into production. has much higher requirements than conventional lithography, requiring many companies to build entirely new facilities .
"With the production of our new EUV-based DRAM, we are demonstrating our full commitment toward providing revolutionary DRAM solutions in support of our global IT customers," said Samsung's exec veep of DRAM, Jung-bae Lee.
"This major advancement underscores how we will continue contributing to global IT innovation through timely development of leading-edge process technologies and next-generation memory products for the premium memory market.”
Although Samsung is the first company to use EUV to make DRAM, it is not the first to use the tech overall. Late last year, TSMC began shipping products based on its N7+ 7nm chips, which are made using the new technology. The company says the chips produced using the new tech provide 15 to 20 per cent higher transistor density, as well as 10 per cent lower power consumption than its N7 chips made using conventional methods. Intel is also developing its own EUV technology.
Together with its new V1 facility, Samsung has six fabs between South Korea and the US. The company will start operation on a second DRAM fab in Pyeongtaek, South Korea in the second half of this year. ®
[1] https://www.eetimes.com/with-euv-timing-is-everything/
[2] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/05/29/euv_lithography_still_out_there/
[3] https://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/02/25/asml_euv_scanner_fails_at_tsmc_and_intel_investigates_dsa/
Come on, just 18181 years ahead. Easy going. Faster than German Telekom.
What? No isolinear chips before 20201?
I was already designing my starship computer, but I can't build it with DDR5.
Did you say ridicurous?
https://youtu.be/Xb1PRxV0mpw
"The result is smaller features and simpler and cheaper manufacturing process."
"The main problem has been that the new tech is more complex than its predecessors"
Make your mind up, guys.
A stamping press is more complex technology to bend metals into a shape, but allows a simpler and cheaper manufacturing process - compared to bulding a master shape and hammering the metal by hand.
Learning how to control a new technology to achieve a given result can be complex (and expensive), once you get it using it may deliver a simpler and cheaper manufacturing process.
But it seems the supply vs demand of RAM means it's always expensive. :(
When they say "cheaper" they don't usually mean "for the end customer".
Re Expensive RAM
It's like housing. A median budget gets you a less-than-median amount of ram.
So EUV chips can be made faster, are more dense and they consume less
Sounds like paradise. And, made faster and easier means making more with the same resources means each unit costs less, so it's a win-win-win.
Except that they're going to want to recoup the costs of putting it in place, so we're not going to see price drops any time soon. And the gaming crowd won't care because it'd DDR5, man, look at those framerates !
Re: So EUV chips can be made faster, are more dense and they consume less
Sounds like me in a new car.
The first and last qualities belong to the car
"Already shipped a million units to good reviews, now says DDR5 will launch in 20201"
I knew DDR5 was a while away for consumers but 20201 seems a tad rediculous.