Samsung Electronics has shipped one million 10nm-class (D1x) DDR4 DRAM modules based on extreme ultraviolet (EUV) technology, according to the company. The new EUV-based DRAM modules have completed global customer evaluations.
Samsung said it is the first to adopt EUV in DRAM production to overcome challenges in DRAM scaling. EUV technology reduces repetitive steps in multi-patterning and improves patterning accuracy, enabling enhanced performance and greater yields, as well as shortened development time.
EUV will be fully deployed in Samsung’s future generations of DRAM, starting with its fourth-generation 10nm-class (D1a) or the highly-advanced 14nm-class DRAM, the company disclosed. Samsung expects to begin volume production of D1a-based DDR5 and LPDDR5 in 2021, which would double manufacturing productivity of the 12-inch D1x wafers.
In line with the expansion of the DDR5/LPDDR5 market next year, Samsung continued, the company will further strengthen its collaboration with leading IT customers and semiconductor vendors on optimizing standard specifications, as it accelerates the transition to DDR5/LPDDR5 throughout the memory market.
In addition, Samsung will start the operation of a second semiconductor fabrication line in Pyeongtaek, South Korea within the second half of 2020, the company indicated.
