SK hynix LPDDR5T Fast DRAM for Mobile

SK hynix Inc. started commercialization of the LPDDR5T (Low Power Double Data Rate 5 Turbo) ^(*), a DRAM for mobile with 9.6Gb/s speed.

The company obtained the validation that the LPDDR5T is compatible with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 mobile platform, marking the industry’s first case for such product to be verified by the U.S. company.

It has proceeded with the compatibility validation of the LPDDR5T, following the completion of the development in January, with support from Qualcomm. The completion of the process means that it is compatible with Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.

With the validation process with Qualcomm, the firm expects the range of the LPDDR5T adoption to grow.

The company plans to provide 16GB capacity product, a combination of multiple single LPDDR5T chips, of which data processing speed is 77GB/s, equivalent to processing 15 Full-HD movies within a second.

The LPDDR5T product also holds an edge in power consumption, performing at the voltage of the 1.01~1.12V standards stipulated by the JEDEC.

The company applied the HKMG (High-K Metal Gate) ^(**) process to bring an improvement in speed and power efficiency. With the adoption of this technology, it expects the LPDDR5T to gain a large share of the market before the next-gen LPDDR6 is introduced.

“Generative AI applications running on our new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 enables exciting new use cases by executing LLMs and LVMs on device with minimal latency and at the lowest power,” said Ziad Asghar, SVP, product management, Qualcomm. “Our collaboration with SK hynix pairs the fastest mobile memory with our latest Snapdragon mobile platform and delivers amazing on-device, ultra-personalized AI experiences such as AI virtual assistants for smartphone users.“

“We are thrilled that we have met our customers’ needs for the ultra-high performance mobile DRAM with the provision of the LPDDR5T,” said Sungsoo Ryu, head, DRAM product planning, SK hynix.

He said that smartphones are expected to grow their presence as the key devices where the AI technologies are fully applied onto in coming years: “I believe the smartphone functions, backed by excellent DRAM for mobile, should continue to improve. We will continue to work toward strengthening our collaboration with Qualcomm to advance the technology in this space.“

^(*) LPDDR: Low power DRAM for mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets, aimed at minimizing power consumption and that features low voltage operation. The latest specs are for the 7th-gen, succeeding the series that end with 1, 2, 3, 4, 4X, 5 and 5X. LPDDR5T is a newly developed version by SK hynix, and an upgraded product of the 7th-gen (5X), prior to the development of the 8th-gen LPDDR6.
^(**) 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 firm was the industry’s first to integrate the process in mobile DRAM in November.