Samsung preps 30-nm LPDDR3 DRAM

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. said it has developed the industry's first monolithic four gigabit (Gb) LPDDR3 (low power double-data-rate 3) memory using 30 nanometer (nm) class technology for mobile applications such as smartphones and tablet PCs, at the eighth annual Samsung Mobile Solutions Forum held at the Westin Taipei.

LPDDR3 DRAM is needed to support faster processors, high resolution displays and 3D graphics in high-end next-generation mobile devices

The new 4Gb LPDDR3 DRAM can transfer data at up to 1,600 megabits per second (Mbps), which is approximately 1.5 times faster than the industry's current highest performance LPDDR2, which operates at 1,066Mbps. The new component also consumes 20 percent less electrical power than its predecessor, according to Samsung.

In addition, by stacking two 4Gb chips, Samsung is enabling use of a single 1GB LPDDR3 package, with a data transmission rate up to 12.8 gigabytes (GB) per second.

Starting next quarter, Samsung said it will begin sampling the 4Gb-based LPDDR3 chips to key mobile device providers. The chips are expected to be widely adopted next year in advanced mobile applications, including next-generation smartphones and tablet PCs.

To accommodate the growing need for higher density mobile memory solutions to process large amount of data, the maximum amount of mobile DRAM in high-end mobile devices will grow from 1GB (8Gb) up to 2GB (16Gb) by early next year. These densities will be available by stacking four 4Gb LPDDR3 chips, Samsung said.