Samsung Electronics announced on the 12ththat they started mass production of 14-nm DRAM using extreme ultraviolet (EUV) exposure process.
EUV is an exposure technology that can implement semiconductor circuits in more detail. When applied to the DRAM production process, performance and yield can be improved. Samsung Electronics previously announced that they would apply EUV to five layers of the 14-nm DRAM process.
This new process will be applied first to the latest DDR5 DRAM. DDR5 is a next-generation DRAM standard that is more than twice as fast as DDR4 with a maximum speed of 7.2Gbps. As data usage methods such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are advancing, the demand for high-performance DDR5 is continuously expanding in the data center, supercomputer, and business server markets.
Samsung Electronics has secured the industry's highest level of degree of integration for 14nm DRAM wafer by applying EUV. Productivity increased by about 20% compared to the previous generation. Power consumption has been improved by 20% compared to the previous process. Samsung Electronics plans to solidify their dominance by securing competitiveness in fine processing even in DRAMs under 14nm.
Samsung Electronics supplied the industry's first EUV-processed DRAM module to a customer in March of last year. It is the only company in the industry to apply the EUV multi-layer process and demonstrate differentiated process technology with most advanced 14-nm DRAM.
Samsung Electronics' strategy is to lead the popularization of DDR5 DRAM by realizing differentiated performance and stable yield based on 14-nano process and highly mature EUV process technology. In addition, in order to respond to demand of the high-capacity data market, they plan to mass-produce up to 24GB of single-chip DRAM with this process.
Joo-young Lee, senior vice president of DRAM development department at Samsung Electronics’ memory division said“Samsung Electronics has been overcoming the limitations of semiconductor micro processing through constant technological innovation for the past 30 years,” and he continued, “We will not only provide high-capacity and high performance, but also the best memory solutions needed in the era of big data such as 5G, AI, and metaverse with high productivity.”
By Staff Reporter Dong-jun Kwon (djkwon@etnews.com)