ONE Semiconductor has localized the 'Register Clock Driver' (RCD), an essential component of DRAM for servers. RCDs were all imported from abroad. It is expected to see import substitution effects worth hundreds of billions of KRW.
ONE Semiconductor commercialized DDR4 DRAM RCD for the first time in Korea, and began mass production. There were three overseas companies that supplied RCDs: US’ Rambus, Japanese Renesas, and Chinese Montage. Domestic semiconductor companies had to import all RCDs to produce server DRAM.
A market researcher QY Research predicted that the size of the memory interface chip market, which is a key logic device for server memory such as data buffers and memory buffers, will increase from last year’s $641 million (833 billion KRW) to $3.612 billion (4.6963 trillion KRW) in 2028. Hundreds of billions of KRW worth of import substitution is expected considering that RCD is an essential component and that domestic companies account for about 75% of the DRAM market for servers.
ONE Semiconductor is advancing its technological capabilities in line with the growth rate of DRAM for servers. A next-generation memory, DDR5 DRAM RCD, is also being developed and is in the process for mass production by 2024. One Semiconductor plans to develop artificial intelligence (AI) data processing semiconductors based on its high-speed interface semiconductor technology capabilities.
ONE Semiconductor is a fabless company founded in August 2018 by CEO Changhyun Kim. He served as Samsung Electronics DRAM development team leader and CTO of Samsung Electro-Mechanics. ONE Semiconductor succeeded in developing RCD with pure domestic personnels and technology such as foundry, packaging, and testing. CEO Kim said, “We are diversifying our products to system semiconductors related to memory with our high-speed signal processing technology. We will grow into a world-class fabless by 2030 by developing next-generation high-speed products.”
◇Terminology
RCD (Register Clock Driver) = A semiconductor located between DRAM and the central processing unit (CPU) that redistributes commands and address signals from the CPU. It is essential component for server DRAM modules, and has an important role in high-speed signal transmission. It is necessary that RCDs are mounted on DRAM modules for servers where several DRAMs are gathered.
By Staff Reporter Yoonseop Song (sys@etnews.com)