The South Korean giant has begun to mass-produce memory chips of 16 Gb of DDR5 in 12 nm, a very important and very curious movement, since we are approaching the jump to 10 nm in this type of solution. Why has Samsung decided to bet on the 12 nm node? Let’s find out.
As many of our readers will know, the jump to a smaller node allows us to reduce the size of the transistors, something that brings improvements in terms of efficiency and also reduces the impact of the chip on the wafer. As this chip is smaller, it occupies less space at the silicon level, and this means that we can get more functional chips per wafer.
However, jumping to a more advanced node is something complicated that requires a significant maturity process, and it is normal that in its first stage major problems occursuch as a low success rate per wafer and chips with less stability or lower maximum performance (consequence of supporting lower frequencies).
The 12nm node has a greater maturity, and poses a much more affordable challenge than the 10 nm node, so it is normal that Samsung has worked to carry out mass manufacturing of its new 16 Gb DDR5 chips under said node.
This new generation of chips is not designed to increase performance or memory density, as confirmed by the South Korean giant, but with them they have focused on improving stability and efficiency, since they have achieved Reduce consumption by up to 23% compared to the previous generation.
Samsung has also explained that the transition from the 14 nm node to the 12 nm node has been possible, mainly, thanks to the use of a new “high-K” material, that is, a new material with a high dielectric constant that has been used in the gates of transistors.
That material allowed Samsung increase cell capacity and improve signal integrity, avoiding electrical leakage through the logic gates. All this also translates into a more reliable and stable memory, and it should reduce the refresh rate of the cells.
On the other hand, it is also necessary to highlight the use of an improved extreme ultraviolet lithography, which allowed Samsung increase productivity at the wafer level by 20%. The South Korean firm is convinced that there is still room for improvement, and that making adjustments and refining its FinFET technology could increase speed by 30% and reduce consumption by 20%.
