Samsung announces 30nm 4Gb LPDDR2 DRAM

SEMICONDUCTOR FIRM Samsung Electronics has begun production of 4Gb LPDDR2 DRAM fabbed at 30nm scale, which it claims is an industry first.

The company developed the chip in December 2010, with mass production beginning this month. The chip showed a 60 per cent jump in productivity in comparison to the previous 40nm 2Gb LPDDR2.

It boasts a more than double increase in data transmission speed compared to similar chips, up from between 333Mb/sec and 400Mb/sec to 1,066Mb/sec.

Since these are 4Gb chips, fewer of them are needed to make up a 1GB package, compared to the old 2Gb models. This results in much smaller and more efficient DRAM modules, with a 20 per cent reduction in height and a 25 per cent reduction in power.

Samsung believes the DRAM will help with producing thinner and lighter smartphones and tablets, as well as giving them a much longer battery life.

This month Samsung will produce a 1GB package, made up of two 4Gb LPDDR2 chips. A 2GB package will follow next month, consisting of four of the chips. µ