Samsung Unveils Cutting Edge 1Gb DDR SDRAM Chip.

Samsung Electronics Industries yesterday announced it has developed the world's first one-gigabyte double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory chip using new 0.13-micron technology which dramatically reduces the chip size and production costs.

"The development of the production-ready one gigabyte chip is significant in that we were successful in applying the 0.13-micron design rule to semiconductor production," a company statement said. The chips are also based on new eight-inch wafer manufacturing technology instead of the traditional 12-inch wafers.

A company executive said the 0.13-micron design technology will also be applied to the production of new-generation 128Mb and 256Mb DRAMs which Samsung its starting to switch its production capacity to from the current industry standard 64Mb computer memory chips. It has already begun supplying selected customers with sample 64Mb DDR SDRAM chips and will make engineering samples available this quarter.

Industry analysts quoted in the Korean press said the cutting-edge micro-manufacturing technology could enhance the competitiveness of 256Mb DRAMS without the need for any additional investment in production facilities, and one report said this could result in savings of up to $4bn.

"The new development of the world's smallest DRAM is expected to save the company investment money and allow it to remain competitive in the world market since existing facilities need not be upgraded," the company statement said. Each tiny chip has the memory capacity of four 256Mb DRAMs, and is able to store the equivalent of 8,000 newspaper pages, it said.

The Samsung statement said the chip, which operates at a data processing speed of 350-MHz, will bring enhanced SDRAM to the server, workstation and data communications system markets. It said applications will include remote conferencing, high-definition television, satellite communications and e-commerce transactions.

It plans to ship samples to its customers before the end of this year, well before its competitors in Japan and the US, according to a company official. He claimed the competition has yet to develop a commercial version of 1Gb memory products. He said the world market for 1Gb DDR memory is projected to grow to $21.6bn in 2003 and more than $100bn in 2005.