Samsung has begun mass production of the industry’s thinnest 12nm-class LPDDR5X DRAM chip, aiming to revolutionise the low-power RAM market, especially for smartphones with on-device AI.
Pioneering AI performance
According to YongCheol Bae, Executive Vice President of Memory Product Planning at Samsung Electronics, the new LPDDR5X DRAM offers a new standard for high-performance on-device AI solutions. It combines top-tier LPDDR performance with advanced thermal management in a remarkably compact design.
Samsung achieved this innovation by enhancing the printed circuit board (PCB) and epoxy moulding compound (EMC)2 techniques. Furthermore, an optimised back-lapping process reduces the package height.
Unmatched thinness and thermal efficiency
The 12nm-class LPDDR5X DRAM chip is impressively thin, at just 0.65mm, making it as slender as a fingerprint. This new chip is 9% thinner than the previous generation and has improved heat resistance by approximately 21.2%.
Heat management is a critical issue in today’s mobile devices, which rely on passive cooling due to the absence of fans. Thinner memory components create more internal space, facilitating better airflow and thermal management. Samsung notes that this is particularly beneficial for high-end devices with on-device AI.
Production and future goals
Samsung will supply the new LPDDR5X DRAM to mobile processor manufacturers and device makers. The company has already begun mass-producing 12GB and 16GB LPDDR5X DRAM chips. Samsung also plans to develop 6-layer 24GB and 8-layer 32GB modules to produce the thinnest LPDDR DRAM packages for future devices.
