SK Hynix Ships Industry's Largest 24Gb DDR5 Samples... Full-Scale DRAM Generation Shift

24Gb DDR5 DRAM and 96GB, 48GB DRAM modules, the first in the industry to be sample shipped by SK Hynix. (Photo by SK Hynix)

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] SK Hynix has shipped samples of a 24Gb DDR5 product, the largest capacity single-chip DRAM in the industry. As the DRAM market begins a full-scale transition to DDR5, this move aims to secure technological leadership by enhancing DRAM efficiency and offering higher-capacity products.

The 24Gb DDR5 released by SK Hynix on the 15th is the largest capacity among existing DDR DRAMs. DDR is a standard DRAM specification defined by the JEDEC (Joint Electron Device Engineering Council), and the higher the number following DDR, the more efficient the technology becomes. Currently, 8Gb and 16Gb capacities are commonly used in DDR DRAMs, with the maximum capacity being 16Gb. SK Hynix was the first in the industry to launch DDR5 last October.

SK Hynix's new product applies the 10nm 4th generation (1a) technology incorporating extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. Compared to the previous 10nm 2nd generation (1y) DDR5 product, the chip capacity has increased from 16Gb to 24Gb, improving production efficiency, and the speed has increased by up to 33%, SK Hynix explained. Power consumption has also been reduced by about 25% compared to previous products, and energy input during manufacturing has decreased due to improved production efficiency.

This product will initially be released in two modules, 48GB and 96GB, and supplied to cloud data centers. It is expected to be used in high-performance servers for big data processing such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and metaverse implementation.

SK Hynix's efforts in developing this new product are interpreted as a response to the DRAM market's generational shift to DDR5. According to market research firm Omdia, the DRAM market had the highest share of DDR4 at 51.7% this year. However, the share of DDR4 is expected to gradually decrease to 8.5% by 2025, while DDR5's share is projected to increase from 0.1% this year to 40.5% in 2025.

Carolyn Duran, Vice President of Memory and IO Technology at Intel, said, "Intel and SK Hynix, who have collaborated for a long time, will provide optimal solutions to customers through this new product cooperation," adding, "This 24Gb product has the advantage of being the largest capacity single DRAM chip, enhancing the cost efficiency of data center operations."

SK Hynix's Head of Business, Noh Jong-won, stated, "We are closely collaborating with many cloud service customers in line with the launch of the 24Gb DDR5," and added, "We will continue to strengthen our leadership in the growing DDR5 market through the development of advanced technologies and products with ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) strengths."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.