Micron Technologies, an American memory chip manufacturer, said it had started to provide smart phone manufacturers with the latest DRAM chip samples for testing.
Micron uses a new generation of cutting-edge manufacturing technology 1-beta on the low-power LPDDR5X mobile memory, so that its maximum speed can reach 8.5Gb.
At present, Micron is mass producing LPDDR5X chips based on 1-alpha technology. According to Micron, the energy efficiency of 1-beta chips is 15% higher than 1-alpha, and the memory density is 35% higher.
Improved energy efficiency means that chips can free up capacity for more powerful processors, thereby extending battery life. The increase in memory density means that customers can put more data in a more compact space, freeing up space for further performance improvement.
In addition, Scott DeBoer, an executive of Micron, said that the 1-beta technology was realized through Micron's proprietary multiple exposure lithography technology combined with leading processes and advanced materials, which was another leap in memory innovation. 1-beta GRAM process technology brings unprecedented memory density, laying the foundation for a new generation of data intensive, intelligent and low-power technology revolution.
With its proprietary multiple exposure lithography technology, Micron successfully bypassed the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machine that other chip companies must use.
The scalability of DRAM largely depends on the ability to inherit more and faster flash memory per square millimeter of semiconductor wafer area. At present, companies compete by continuously reducing the circuit area. With the reduction of chip size, efforts in this direction become increasingly difficult to achieve the goal.
At present, major chip companies use EUV lithography technology to overcome difficulties, but this technology is still in its early development.
Meguiar blazes a new trail by using its advanced multiple exposure technology and immersion lithography technology to form patterns on small areas with the highest accuracy, once again establishing its global leading technical position.
Thy Tran, Vice President of Micron DRAM Process Integration, said that the new DRAM would first be produced in Micron's factory in Hiroshima, Japan, and then be put into mass production in other bases, including Taiwan, China, China.
These chips will first be used on mobile devices, and then they will also be used in communication, artificial intelligence, machine learning and other high energy consuming fields.
Meguiar Light said that it plans to expand the rest of its 1-beta product portfolio next year, including mass production in the client, industry, data center and automobile fields, and launch products including display memory and high bandwidth memory.