Samsung Electronics achieves world's first simultaneous maximum capacity and ultra-low power characteristics

Samsung Electronics has begun full-scale mass production of a '128-gigabyte (GB) server (RDIMM) DRAM module' that simultaneously achieves maximum capacity and ultra-low power characteristics by applying 3D TSV stacking technology for the first time in the world.

TSV (Through Silicon Via) technology is an advanced packaging technology that thins DRAM chips to less than half the thickness of ordinary paper, drills hundreds of tiny holes, and connects electrodes that vertically penetrate the holes of the upper and lower chips.

Samsung Electronics created a 3D DRAM market by successfully mass-producing '64-gigabyte DDR4 (Double Data Rate 4) DRAM modules' using TSV technology last August, and has now broken through the DRAM capacity limit with the mass-production of '128-gigabyte TSV DRAM modules'.

This 128-gigabyte TSV DRAM module satisfies all Green IT requirements, including not only the highest capacity but also ultra-high speed, ultra-low power consumption, and high reliability, providing the best solution for next-generation enterprise servers and data centers.

The 128-gigabyte DRAM module consists of a total of 144 8-gigabit (Gb) DDR4 DRAM chips using Samsung Electronics' latest 20-nanometer process, and externally, it appears to be equipped with 36 packages in which four chips are stacked using TSV stacking technology.

TSV The technology not only offers superior signal transmission characteristics compared to packages using conventional wires (gold wires) but also enables the configuration of optimized chip operating circuits, allowing for the simultaneous realization of faster operating speeds and lower power consumption.

In particular, this 128-gigabyte TSV DRAM module can achieve speeds of 2,400Mbps (up to 3,200Mbps), which is about twice as fast as the existing 64-gigabyte DRAM module using wires (gold wires), as well as capacity, while reducing power consumption by 50%.

In addition, Samsung Electronics plans to provide a 'TSV full lineup' by successively mass-producing '128-gigabyte DDR4 LRDIMM' products using TSV technology this year, and to elevate its manufacturing competitiveness to the next level by rapidly increasing the production share of 20-nanometer 8-gigabit DRAM to meet the growing demand for ultra-high-capacity DRAM.

Choi Joo-sun, Executive Vice President of Strategy Marketing Team at Samsung Electronics’ Memory Business Division, emphasized, “With the mass production of 128-gigabit DRAM modules, global IT customers are now able to launch next-generation server systems with even greater investment efficiency in a timely manner,” adding, “In the future, we will expand technological cooperation with market-leading customers in various fields and accelerate changes in the global IT market to contribute to enhancing user convenience for consumers.”

Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics plans to lead the expansion of the new premium memory market and further strengthen its differentiated business position by mass-producing products for the consumer market in a timely manner, following next-generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) products for ultra-high-speed computing that utilize TSV technology to significantly increase bandwidth.