LPDDR5 to Overcome DRAM Winter... Samsung and SK's R&D Gamble (Comprehensive)

Targeting the Low-Power DRAM Market
Widening Gap with Latecomers
Samsung Achieves 8.5Gbps... Industry's Highest Operating Speed
SK Plans to Supply New Products to Clients

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Yeju] Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are accelerating the development of next-generation DRAM technology. In response to the cold wave in the memory semiconductor market, their strategy is to lead the popularization of new products by focusing on high value-added products rather than low-price supply competition. In particular, they are focusing on mobile DRAM ‘LPDDR5 (Low Power Double Data Rate 5)’ to widen the gap with latecomers.

According to the industry on the 19th, Samsung Electronics once again set a new industry record for the operating speed of the latest low-power DRAM LPDDR5X, which it first developed in the industry last November. It verified the operating speed of an 8GB LPDDR5X DRAM package based on 14nm with EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet) technology on Qualcomm’s latest platform, achieving 8.5Gbps. This broke the previous record of 7.5Gbps verified in cooperation with Qualcomm in March, just five months ago. Compared to the previous generation product ‘LPDDR5’ with 6.4Gbps, the speed is 1.3 times faster while reducing power consumption by about 20%.

SK Hynix, the second-largest DRAM company, has also completed the development of LPDDR5X DRAM and plans to supply the new product to customers. This product is expected to be 30% faster and reduce power consumption by 25% compared to previous technology. LPDDR5 is expected to be adopted in major flagship new products in the second half of the year, significantly increasing its share compared to the first half.

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix are sparing no investment in the next-generation DRAM standard DDR5 to maintain their global leadership.

Looking at the major research and development (R&D) achievements of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix last year, many studies related to DDR5 are included. Samsung Electronics was the first in the industry to develop mobile LPDDR5X DRAM and high-capacity DDR5 memory for servers using HKMG process. It also invested in EUV process for mass production of 14nm DDR5 DRAM. SK Hynix made investments to transition from 8Gb to 16Gb LPDDR5 for the mobile market to respond to high capacity and improve profitability. SK Hynix also developed the world’s first 16Gb DDR5 product for servers in 2020.

The industry expects the low-power DRAM market to grow steadily. According to market research firm Omdia, low-power DRAM sales in the first half of this year reached $16.133 billion, an 18.7% increase from $13.596 billion in the same period last year. Omdia forecasts that the share of DDR5 shipments in the total DRAM market will increase from 4.7% this year to 20.1% next year, reaching 40.5% by 2025. As of the second quarter, Samsung Electronics holds a 57.7% share of the low-power DRAM market, followed by SK Hynix (23.86%) and Micron (16.17%).

DDR5 DRAM also has advantages in profitability. As DDR4 production capacity shifts to DDR5, the supply of existing DDR4 DRAM will decrease, helping to defend against price declines. Additionally, DDR5 chips include built-in error correction code (ECC) circuits, enhancing stability but increasing chip size by 15-20%. Larger chip size reduces the number of chips produced per wafer. Lower production volume compared to demand makes it easier to defend prices.

In particular, LPDDR DRAM, with its low power consumption and high performance, is expanding beyond the mobile market into various fields such as servers, high-performance computing (HPC), and automotive electronics. Using LPDDR DRAM in data centers and server markets can reduce power and energy consumption for data processing. The market is expected to expand further with AI and metaverse developments. IT companies are considering ways to reduce energy use amid the climate crisis, and LPDDR DRAM, which can reduce power consumption, is seen as a viable alternative.

However, the rapid price decline of DDR5 DRAM remains a variable. Taiwanese media Digitimes Asia recently reported that DDR5 DRAM prices could fall significantly this year. According to TrendForce, the decline in DDR5 DRAM prices compared to DDR4 may be more pronounced in the third and fourth quarters.

Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics plans to collaborate with various companies to pioneer new markets for next-generation low-power DRAM and further expand the ecosystem. It is expected to commercialize new low-power DRAM products as early as this year.

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