"Mass Production of 5th Generation 10nm-Class DRAM Next Year and Development of 1000-Layer V-NAND by 2030"

Samsung Electronics Holds 'Tech Day 2022' in Silicon Valley, USA
Maintains Memory Market Leadership with Technological Superiority
Forecasts to Achieve No.1 in Automotive Memory Market by 2025

Lee Jung-bae, President of Samsung Electronics Memory Division, is giving a presentation at 'Samsung Tech Day 2022' held in Silicon Valley, USA, on the 5th (local time). / Provided by Samsung Electronics

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Pyeonghwa] Samsung Electronics has concretized its plan to mass-produce 1.4-nanometer (nm, one-billionth of a meter) chips in the foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) sector and has now announced the development of 1000-layer V-NAND by 2030. It also expects to produce the world's first 5th-generation 10nm-class DRAM next year. The company plans to maintain its leading position and secure competitiveness through a technological gap in the semiconductor field.

On the 5th (local time), Samsung Electronics held 'Samsung Tech Day 2022' in Silicon Valley, USA. Tech Day is an annual event that Samsung Electronics has been conducting since 2017 to showcase next-generation semiconductor technologies. This year, it was held offline for the first time in three years since 2019. About 800 people, including Samsung Electronics employees, global IT companies, and analysts, attended.

World's First Mass Production of 5th-Generation 10nm-Class DRAM

At this event, Samsung Electronics unveiled the latest roadmap related to DRAM and NAND, stating its commitment to maintaining memory technology leadership. Samsung Electronics has held the top position in the memory semiconductor market since 1993 with advanced technology and has never relinquished the throne. The goal is to overcome technological limits and lead new changes in memory going forward.

Samsung Electronics announced that it will mass-produce the world's first 5th-generation 10nm-class DRAM next year. While competitors are producing 4th-generation 14nm-class DRAM, Samsung is widening the technological gap. It plans to timely release next-generation products such as high-capacity 32Gb DDR5 DRAM for data centers and ultra-fast 36Gbps GDDR7 DRAM for graphics, leading the premium DRAM market.

Given the explosive increase in data volume, convergence between memory and system semiconductors is also anticipated. An example is the development of intelligent semiconductors (PIM) that perform computations within memory. Samsung Electronics introduced 'HBM-PIM' last February, which combines a high-bandwidth memory (HBM) with a processing unit.

Samsung Electronics believes that various fields of collaboration will be required for such changes. Not only hardware but also software development is necessary. To this end, Samsung plans to sequentially launch Samsung Memory Research Centers (SMRC) starting in Korea and expanding to global regions such as the United States, and to expand cooperation with global software companies like Red Hat and Google Cloud.

On the 5th (local time), the scene at 'Samsung Tech Day 2022' held in Silicon Valley, USA / Provided by Samsung Electronics

Samsung Claims Ultra-Gap with 1000-Layer NAND Amid 200-Layer Competition

In the NAND sector, Samsung has concretized plans to mass-produce 9th-generation V-NAND in 2024 and develop 1000-layer V-NAND by 2030. Amid ongoing global competition in 200-layer stacking, Samsung has expressed confidence in its technological gap by announcing the 1000-layer development. This year, it will mass-produce 1Tb TLC products based on the world's highest-capacity 8th-generation V-NAND. The plan is to present a new paradigm with innovative NAND technology.

Lee Jung-bae, President of Samsung Electronics Memory Business, said, "The total storage capacity of memory created by Samsung Electronics over about 40 years has exceeded 1 trillion gigabytes (GB), with half of that produced in the last three years, reflecting the rapid digital transformation," adding, "In the future, high-bandwidth, high-capacity, and high-efficiency memory will co-evolve with various new platforms."

Samsung Electronics also announced at this event its goal to become the number one supplier in the automotive memory market by 2025. As the need for high-performance memory grows with vehicle advancement, Samsung plans to supply optimal memory solutions such as LPPDDR5X and GDDR7 for autonomous driving (AD), advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), and infotainment (IVI).

Regarding the recent trend of production cuts spreading in the memory semiconductor industry, Samsung stated it is not considering such measures. Han Jin-man, Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics, attending a press conference held locally that day, said, "Currently, there is no discussion regarding production cuts."

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