Elpida Announces The World's Smallest DDR2 SDRAM Chip

Miniaturization is one of the most important trends in technological design nowadays, as it allows for the development of smaller and lighter products, which require a lot less power to operate. Furthermore, since the field of semiconductors and memory modules is always in the forefront of research and development activities, it was to be expected that some of the most important miniaturization breakthroughs would originate here. And that's exactly the case with the latest announcement made by the Japanese memory manufacturer Elpida, who has managed to develop what it considers to be the world's smallest DDR2 SDRAM chip.

In December 2006 Elpida started mass production of the industry's first DRAMs using 70nm process technology and has been realizing significant cost reductions. The 70nm process now applies to mass production at the Hiroshima Elpida E300 Fab and the Taiwan-based Rexchip Electronics Corporation joint venture.

A smooth migration to the new 65nm process is expected, as most of the manufacturing equipment now used in the 70nm process will also be used in 65nm production. In addition, the manufacturing transition will be made easier by the process development undertaken on the mass production line at Hiroshima Elpida.

Elpida successfully applied technological advances made possible using measurement data gathered from the mass production of the company's path-breaking 70nm process products to development of the new 65nm process.

"The new 65nm process and our own storehouse of design technology have made it possible for the 1-Gigabit DDR2 SDRAM to become the world's smallest chip," said Hideki Gomi, Officer of Process Technology. "Given the imminent transition from 512-Megabit to 1-Gigabit products, Elpida is now geared up to produce high-performance 1-Gigabit DRAMs at lower cost," he added.

According to the company, the sampling of 65nm new products will begin in December 2007, while the mass production is scheduled to start in the first quarter of CY 2008, which means that the first units will probably hit the shelves at some point during next year's third quarter.

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