Samsung Start Mass Production Of Worldโs First 128GB DDR4 RAM Modules Using TSV Interconnectย Technology
This may look like a regular RAM chip, but it packs a punch. This is the latest chunk of RAM to roll off Samsungโs production lineโand it squeezes a giddying 128GB into little frame.
Samsung Electronics on Thursday announced that it has started mass producing the industryโs first โThrough Silicon Viaโ (TSV) 128GB DDR4 memory modules. Targeted at enterprise servers and data centers, it boasts the largest capacity and the highest energy efficiency of any DRAM module ever made, while also operating at high speed with excellent reliability.
Samsung had introduced the world’s first 3D TSV DDR4 DRAM (64GB) back in 2014. It is claimed that the new memory modules represent both a breakthrough in capacity and in energy efficiency to make for a compelling package for enterprise clients.
Joo Sun Choi, executive VP, Memory Sales and Marketing, Samsung Electronics summed up the attractiveness of the new 128GB modules, “our high speed, low-power 128GB TSV DRAM module will enable our global IT customers and partners to launch a new generation of enterprise solutions with dramatically improved efficiency and scalability for their investment.”
TSV advanced circuitry connects the chip components using “hundreds of fine holes and vertically connected by electrodes passing through the holes, allowing for a significant boost in signal transmission,” instead of traditional wire bonding, explains Samsung.
The 128GB TSV DDR4 module is made out of a total of 144 DDR4 chips that are arranged in 36 4GB packages, each individual package has four 20-nanometer 8GB chips that have been assembled using Samsungโs TSV packaging technology. Enhancing Samsung’s design further, a master chip on each 4GB package embeds the data buffer function to optimise module performance and power consumption.
As a result, Samsung’s TSV DDR4 RDIMM is said to provide a low-power solution for next-generation servers with speeds at up to 2,400Mbps, reaching nearly twice the performance while cutting power use by 50 percent compared with the firm’s previous DRAM modules.
“We are responding to the growing demand for ultra-high capacity DRAM by accelerating production of TSV technology in the market and quickly ramping up 20nm 8Gb DRAM chips to improve manufacturing productivity,” added Samsung.
TSV DRAM technology will continue to be pushed at Samsung with the firm aiming to bring out new modules with data transfer speeds of up to 2,667Mbps and 3,200Mbps to facilitate enterprise server performance enhancements. Samsung intends to bring TSV tech into high bandwidth memory (HBM) and consumer products too.