Samsung rolls out first 8-Gbit LPDDR5 DRAM for 5G and AI mobile applications

By Gina Roos, editor-in-chief

Samsung Electronics has claimed the industry’s first 10-nanometer (nm)-class* 8-gigabit (Gbit) LPDDR5 DRAM. Targeting 5G and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered mobile applications, the 8-Gbit LPDDR5 offers a data rate of up to 6,400 megabits per second (Mbits/s), which is 1.5 times as fast as the mobile DRAM chips used in its current flagship mobile devices (LPDDR4X, 4,266 Mbits/s).

Thanks to the increased transfer rate, the new LPDDR5 DRAM can send 51.2 gigabytes (GB) of data, or approximately 14 full-HD video files (3.7 GB each), in a second, according to Samsung. The LPDDR5 DRAM will be available in two bandwidths — 6,400 Mbits/s at a 1.1 operating voltage (V) and 5,500 Mbits/s at 1.05 V. These bandwidths make the LPDDR5 DRAM “the most versatile mobile memory solution for next-generation smartphones and automotive systems,” said Samsung.

The performance improvement was achieved through several architectural enhancements. “By doubling the number of memory ‘banks’ — subdivisions within a DRAM cell — from eight to 16, the new memory can attain a much higher speed while reducing power consumption,” and it “makes use of a highly advanced, speed-optimized circuit architecture that verifies and ensures the chip’s ultra-high-speed performance,” according to Samsung.

Samsung also said that the memory chip was designed to lower its voltage in accordance with the operating speed of the corresponding application when in active mode to maximize power savings. The chip also will offer a deep-sleep mode, which will cut the power usage to approximately half the idle mode of the current LPDDR4X DRAM. It is also configured to avoid overwriting cells with “0” values. Together, these low-power features will cut power consumption by up to 30%, thus extending the battery life of smartphones.

Thanks to its bandwidth and power efficiency, the LPDDR5 will be able to power AI and machine-learning applications and will be UHD-compatible for mobile devices worldwide, said Samsung.

Functional testing and validation of a prototype 8-Gbit LPDDR5 DRAM package, comprised of eight 8-Gbit LPDDR5 chips, have been completed. Samsung plans to begin mass production of its next-generation DRAM lineups (LPDDR5, DDR, and GDDR6) at its fab in Pyeongtaek, Korea.

*Samsung defines the 10-nm class as a process node between 10 and 20 nm.