Electronic component search engine * LPDDR4 (Low Power Double Data Rate 4)-a low power DRAM specification specially developed for mobile terminals. "DDR" is the name of the DRAM specification standard specified by the Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC), and DDR1-2-3-4 is a replacement for its order.
Since the beginning of 10-nanometer-level DRAM products, the semiconductor industry has named each generation of process nodes with English letters. The 1a nanometer process that SK Hynix mass-produced is following the 1x (first generation) and 1y (second generation) ), the fourth generation process node after 1z (third generation). The company expects to start supplying mobile DRAM with 1a nanometer technology to smartphone manufacturers in the second half of the year.
The mass-produced product is SK Hynix's first mass-produced DRAM using EUV technology, which is of great significance. SK Hynix has partially adopted EUV technology in the previous production of 1y nanometer products, and has completed the verification of its stability in advance.
* EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet): Refers to lithography equipment that uses extreme ultraviolet
The trend toward extreme miniaturization of the process has led semiconductor manufacturers to successively introduce EUV equipment and invest it in the photolithography process of drawing circuits on wafers. The industry believes that the level of EUV technology adoption will become an important factor in determining technological leadership in the future. SK Hynix has ensured the stability of EUV process technology through this mass production, and said that the future 1a nano-level DRAM will be produced using EUV process.
SK hynix expects to ensure higher cost competitiveness through the improvement of production efficiency of new products. Compared with the same specification products of the previous generation 1z nanometer process, the number of products that can be produced on each wafer of 1a nanometer DRAM has increased by about 25%. In the context of continued growth in global DRAM demand this year, the company expects 1a nanometer DRAM to play an important role in global storage semiconductor supply and demand.
The new product stably supports the highest speed (4266Mbps) of the LPDDR4 mobile DRAM specification, and its power consumption is also reduced by about 20% compared with the previous generation product. SK hynix believes that this new product further strengthens the advantage of low power consumption , Contributing to the reduction of carbon emissions, fully embodies SK hynix’s spiritual concept of focusing on ESG (environmental, social, corporate governance) management.
After this LPDDR4 product, SK Hynix also plans to introduce the 1a nano-level process into the world's first DDR5 DRAM launched in October last year from early next year.
Cao Yongwan, Deputy President of SK Hynix’s 1a Nano DRAM Leadership Group (Task Force), said: “The production efficiency and cost competitiveness of 1a nano DRAM have been improved in this mass production, so you can expect higher levels. Profitability. SK hynix is expected to further consolidate its position as a high-tech enterprise leading the cutting-edge technology by fully introducing EUV technology into the mass production process."