SK hynix Mobile DRAM LPDDR5T Operates at 9.6Gb/s

SK hynix, Inc. developed the fastest mobile DRAM ‘LPDDR5T (Low Power Double Data Rate 5 Turbo)’ and provided sample products to customers.

The LPDDR5T operates at a data rate of 9.6Gb/s, 13% faster than the previous gen LPDDR5X ⁽¹⁾ unveiled in November 2022. To highlight the maximum speed the product features, the company added ‘Turbo’ at the end of the standard name LPDDR5.

LPDDR5T, which operates in the low voltage range of 1.01 to 1.12V set by the JEDEC (Joint Electron Device Engineering Council), is a product  only features utmost speed and also low power consumption.

“The company pushed the technology to new limits in just two months after LPDDR5X, mobile DRAM with 8.5Gb/s specification, was introduced to the market in November 2022,” the company said. “We will solidify our leadership in the mobile DRAM market by providing products of various storage capacities that meet customers’ needs.”

The firm said it provided customers with samples of 16GB multi-chip package, which combines multiple LPDDR5T chips into one package. The packaged product can process 77GB/s, which is equivalent to transferring 15 FHD (Full-HD) movies in 1s.

The company plans to begin mass production of LPDDR5T using 1anm, the 4th gen of the 10nm technology, in 2H2023.

Meanwhile, the firm has again integrated the HKMG (High-K Metal Gate) ⁽²⁾ process in the latest product that enabled the new product to deliver the best performance, and expects LPDDR5T, which substantially widened the technology gap, ‘to lead the market before the development of the next gen LPDDR6.’

The IT industry forecasts an increasing demand for memory chips with specs as the 5G smartphone market expands further. In this trend, the company expects the application of LPDDR5T to expand beyond smartphones to AI, ML and augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR).

“With the development of LPDDR5T, the company has fulfilled customers’ demand for ultrahigh-performance products,” said Sungsoo Ryu, head, DRAM product planning, SK hynix. “We will continue to work on the technology development to lead the next-gen semiconductor market and become the game changer to the IT world.”

⁽¹⁾ LPDDR: Low power DRAM for mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets, aimed at minimizing power consumption and features low voltage operation. LPDDR5X DRAM is the 7th gen product, succeeding the series of such that ends with 1, 2, 3, 4, 4X and 5. LPDDR5T is a newly developed version by the firm, which is an upgraded product of the 7th gen (5X) prior to the development of the 8th gen LPDDR6.
⁽²⁾ HKMG: A next-gen process that uses a material with a high dielectric constant (K) in the insulating film inside DRAM transistors to prevent leakage currents and to improve capacitance. It reduces power consumption while increasing speed. The company had become the first to integrate the process in mobile DRAM in November 2022.