Samsung 128GB DRAM modules enter mass-production

Samsung’s latest TSV DRAM module are the highest capacity and most efficient of any DRAM modules presently available on the market.

Samsung Electronics says it is mass producing memory modules for datacentre and enterprise servers that could turbo charge cloud services. As of now, no pricing has been mentioned for the new RAM chips, but it is certain that the pricetag will reflect its market of large enterprises and server utility (not, unfortunately, personal home supercomputing). Samsung first used this when it introduced its 3D TSV DDR4 DRAM (64GB) in 2014.

It is this innovative technological design, which enables the memory module to provide a high memory, yet low-power solution for next-generation and data centre servers.

Coming to the technical side of things, each 128GB TSV DDR4 RAM module packs a total of 144 DDR4 chips that are arranged into 36 4GB DRAM packages.

Samsung Electronics plans to begin mass production of the 128GB DDR4 load reduced DIMMs (LRDIMM) by the end of this year with the use of its TSV technology, providing the complete lineup of its new high-performance TSV DRAM modules.

What it does is that instead of interconnecting die stacks using wire bonding like in conventional chip packages, the chip dies are first finely ground and then pierced with fine holes and vertically connected by electrodes passing through the holes. Compared to the DRAM chip with plane structure, the cutting-edge packaging technology can improve capacity, performance and reduce power consumption.

As a result servers can reach 2,400 megabits per second (Mbps), roughly twice their normal speed at half the power usage.

Samsung is responding to growing demand for ultra-high capacity DRAM by accelerating production of TSV technology in the market and quickly ramping up 20nm 8Gb DRAM chips to improve manufacturing productivity.