14 DAY TRIAL // There haven't been memory chips with a capacity of 6 Gb until now, but SK Hynix managed to invent some using its 20 nm class production technology, marking a new development stage of mobile devices.
Physical compactness and low power consumption are the hallmarks of mobile consumer electronics devices, and mobile devices that aren't made for consumers too, for that matter.
Lately, smartphones, tablets, portable media players, portable gaming consoles and all other handsets have been making strides in terms of power efficiency.
Memory is a big part of that, being one of the few components of a device that still relies on constant power while the device is on. Fans have adjustable speed (if they even exist), storage devices can turn off, so can central processors and GPUs, etc.
The RAM has to always have electricity coursing through it though, even in standby mode.
That is why the new 6 Gb chip from SK Hynix is likely to be a big success. Not only does it reduce the operating power as well as the standby current by 30%, it also works at ultra low-voltage of 1.2V.
And when the specifications are 1866 Mbps and a 32-bit I/O performance of up to 7.4 GB of data per second (14.8 GB in a dual channel), that's quite a feat.
Not only that, but the chip can be stacked, leading to density of up to 3 GB (24 Gb as it were). In fact, it can be sold in “PoP” (Package on Package) form to mobile devices.
High-end smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices are bound to start using 6 Gb 20nm SK Hynix memory at some point in the first half of 2014. Mass production will start at the beginning of the year actually.
"After SK Hynix developed the world's first high-density 8 Gb LPDDR3 last June of this year, this is another achievement so that the Company can offer 6 Gb LPDDR3 using 20 nm class this time and is able to far strengthen its competitiveness in high-density products for mobile gadgets," said Senior Vice President Richard Chin, the head of Global Sales Marketing.