30nm 4Gb Samsung DRAM for Tablets Officially Launched

It seems that no sort of pricing troubles are enough to deter Samsung from creating newer and better memory products, the latest of which is one based on the 30nm process and aimed at mobile applications.

Basically, Samsung came up with a new DDR2 memory chip, a LPDDR2 chip of 4 Gb to be exact, which is actually almost as fast as memory solutions used in PCs.

For one, the LPDDR2 DRAM can transfer at up to 1,066 Mbps, meaning it also doubles the performance of previous-generation mobile DRAM.

For those that do not know, the so-called 'older' mobile DRAM works at between 333 Mbps and 400 Mbps.

The new 4 Gb chip is constructed on the 30nm manufacturing process technology and should let Samsung better meet the needs of such applications as tablet PCs and smartphones.

The first step towards fulfilling this goal has already been made, or so the company said in a press release, in the form of an 8 Gb LPDDR2 DRAM made of two 4 Gb chips.

It has the advantage of a 20% reduction in package height (0.8mm instead of 1 mm) and, compared to 8 Gb packages composed of four 2 Gb chips, will use 25% less power.

Overall, the DRAM will let devices get lighter and thinner while also boosting battery life.

Samsung also plans to create a 16 Gb LPDDR2 DRAM made of four 4 Gb chips, though it is not entirely clear when this will happen.

“The mobile device market is gaining momentum with the advent of tablet PCs, which is adding significantly to the already surging smartphone segment,” said Jun-Young Jeon, vice president, memory product planning team, Samsung Electronics.

“Samsung will work closely with mobile device designers to bring high-performance, high-density mobile solutions to market as rapidly as possible,” the vice president added.