According to Kyodo News, Micron Technology’s subsidiary in Higashihiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, “Japan Micron Memory Corporation” has started mass production of the highest-end DRAM in the city’s Hiroshima factory on the 16th.
According to Micron, 1β technology can improve energy efficiency by about 15%, memory density by more than 35%, and the capacity of a single die up to 16Gb.
The 1-beta process technology enables lower power consumption per bit than ever before, providing smartphones with the most energy-efficient memory technology on the market today. It will enable smartphone manufacturers to introduce longer-lasting devices — extended battery life will be critical when consumers are using power-hungry, data-intensive applications.
The new JEDEC Enhanced Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Regulation Extended Core (eDVFSC) technology make 1β-based LPDDR5X even more energy efficient. The addition of eDVFSC to the dual frequency layer up to 3200 Mbps allows for improved power saving control, resulting in lower power consumption based on a unique end-user model.
Finally, Micron said it will mass produce 1β nodes in other applications such as embedded, data center, client, consumer, industrial and automotive in the coming year, including products such as display memory and high-bandwidth memory.
The Hiroshima plant was acquired by Micron in 2013 when it acquired Elpida, and will build a new plant in 2019, among other things, dedicated to the production of cutting-edge technology products DRAM. The Japanese government announced in September that it would subsidize up to 46.4 billion yen for the Hiroshima plant to enhance its equipment in order to strengthen its semiconductor production base, according to Kyodo News.
The memory maker’s previous generation DRAM chips were differentiated by 1X, 1Y and 1Z processes, with 1Xnm process equivalent to 16-19nm level, 1Ynm equivalent to 14-16nm and 1Znm process equivalent to 12-14nm level. According to industry sources, the latest 1α, 1β and 1γ may be equivalent to 14-12nm, 12-10nm and 10nm respectively.
