14 DAY TRIAL // Even with all the so-called uncertainties regarding demand for DRAM and NAND memory, makers of semiconductors are still quite eagerly stepping up production of new chips, Elpida having now completed the development of its 30nm-based 2Gb DDR3 SDRAM.
Though there are a myriad of memory modules on the market, they are, in the end, limited by the type of chips they employ, both in terms of power draw and performance.
Basically, the chips they are made of become more power-efficient and enable a higher density as they move on to smaller manufacturing processes.
Elpida has now been revealed, according to a report made by Digitimes, to have completed a 2Gb DDR3 SDRAM based on the 30nm class technology.
With a smaller chip size, this SDRAM lets its maker achieve a chip yield that is 45% higher per wafer compared to the 40nm process.
This would mean that Elpida would be just a short period behind Samsung Electronics, which is already producing 30nm-based 2 Gb DDR3 chips.
Elpida intends to apply the 30nm process, as well as its through silicon via (TSV) technology, to its mobile RAM products.
This would allow them to support one-chip memory solutions, useful for applications that value compactness and portability.
This means that the 30nm 2Gb chips should prove quite useful in DSCs and mobile phones, in addition to just DRAM for personal computers.
For those interested in actual numbers, the 30nm 2Gb DDR3 DRAM can be configured in two ways, depending on what they are meant for.
One of them is having the clock programmed at 1,866 MHz and the voltage at 1.5 V, whereas the other option is a 1,600 MHz frequency and a voltage of 1.35V.
The first sample shipments of the new SDRAM are scheduled to begin during December 2010, with mass production to kick off later during the same month.