Much of the focus on process technology has been on GPUs and CPUs. However, there are many other products where semiconductors are needed, among them DRAM. Samsung has been and continues to be one of the leaders in DRAM production and have moved on the next process node with DDR4. According to Samsung, they have started production of DRR4 using the latest “10nm Class” process.
Samsung isn’t always the most forthcoming about their process technology so all 10nm class means is that it is below 20nm. In addition to the reduced size and increased density, the new DRAM modules also feature 8Gb capacity and run at DDR4-3200 speeds. They are also 10-20% more power efficient than current 20nm DDR4 modules. While ram power consumption isn’t a large sahre, every bit helps when you’re talking about servers and mobile devices.
Using a 300mm wafer, the new DRAM is 30% more effiecent which means DDR4 prices should fall once Samsung ramps up their 10nm class production. Samsung has also changed their DRAM design so higher speeds should be easier to come by in the future. DDR4 has just really gotten going and it looks like we’ll be seeing plenty of advancement in the years to come.
