Samsung starts mass production of 16Gb LPDDR5 DRAM chips at Pyeongtaek Line 2 plant

Samsung has announced that the second production line at its Pyeongtaek plant in South Korea has commenced the mass production of the industry’s first 16Gb LPDDR5 DRAM for mobile devices. These chips are being fabricated using the company’s third-generation 10nm-class EUV technology (1z).

The South Korean tech giant is the leader of the global DRAM market. It claims that its new LPDDR5 DRAM chips boast the highest mobile memory capacity and performance. Samsung’s 16Gb LPDDR5 DRAM chips are 16% faster than 12Gb LPDDR5 DRAM chips, thanks to their data transfer rates of 6,400Mb/s. 16GB packages made using 16Gb LPDDR5 chips can transfer 51.2GB of data in one second.

Thanks to the 1z process, the LPDDR5 package is 30% thinner than its predecessor. The 1y process required combining twelve chips (eight 12Gb chips and four 8Gb chips) to make a 16GB RAM package. However, the same capacity can be achieved with the 1z process using just eight chips (eight 16Gb chips). This means it becomes easier to make smartphones with 5G, foldable screens, and multi-camera setups.

Samsung is also planning to bring LPDDR5 DRAM chips for automotive applications, offering extended temperature range and reliability standards for tough environments. The facility that manufactures 10nm EUV LPDDR5 DRAM chips spans more than 128,900 square meters (over 1.3 million square feet). It is also Samsung’s biggest semiconductor production line to date.

Jung-Bae Lee, Executive Vice President of DRAM Product & Technology at Samsung Electronics, said, “The 1z-based 16Gb LPDDR5 elevates the industry to a new threshold, overcoming a major developmental hurdle in DRAM scaling at advanced nodes. We will continue to expand our premium DRAM lineup and exceed customer demands, as we lead in growing the overall memory market.”