Samsung Begins Production of Powerful, Efficient New 4Gb LPDDR3 Mobile DRAM

The mobile hardware arms race continues to heat up as manufacturers such as Samsung and Qualcomm aim to best each other in terms of speed, efficiency, size and power. Indeed, Samsung recently included an eight-core Exynos 5 Octa processor in its latest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S4, while Qualcomm's upcoming Snapdragon 800 processor will be the first to use TSMC's 28nm HPM (Higher Performance Mobile) process technology.

However, even the most powerful and efficient processor needs quality RAM by its side to provide a quality mobile computing experience. As such, Samsung recently commenced the first production of ultra-high-speed four gigabit low power double data rate 3 (LPDDR3) mobile DRAM.

Produced at a 20nm class process node, this new DRAM is said to offer performance levels comparable to the standard DRAM found in PCs. If this claim holds true, Samsung's new offering may be the standard for mobile DRAM, supporting the next generation of mobile devices and intensive multimedia use.

“By providing the most efficient next-generation mobile memory with a very large data capacity, we are now enabling OEMs to introduce even more innovative designs in the marketplace,” said Young-Hyun Jun, executive vice president, memory sales & marketing, Samsung Electronics. “Our 20nm-class four gigabit mobile DRAM provides another example of our ability to deliver well-differentiated, high-performance, high-density memory to customers in a timely manner.”

Samsung's 4Gb LPDDR3 more than doubles the data transmission speeds of the preceding standard for mobile DRAM, LPDDR2, capable of transmitting data at speeds up to 2,133 Mbps per pin, compared with 800 Mbps. This type of speed allows for three full HD videos, about 17GB altogether, to be transmitted in one second over Samsung's new DRAM.

Furthermore, because of its 20nm process, this DRAM offers 20 percent power consumption savings compared to 30nm-class LPDDR3 DRAM in addition to a 30 percent improvement in performance. This also allows Samsung's new DRAM to be extremely compact, supporting the trend toward thinner devices.