Samsung begins mass-production of 80 nm DDR2 modules

San Jose (CA) - Samsung today announced that it has begun volume production of DDR2 memory modules in 80 nm. According to the company, the move from its 90 nm to the 80 nm process technology increases production efficiency by 50%.

"With demand for DDR2 at its highest level since it was made its market debut in 2004, our 80-nm technology provides us with the ability to more efficiently support the sustained demand growth that is expected in the DDR2 marketplace this year," said Tom Trill, director of DRAM marketing at Samsung Semiconductor, in a prepared statement.

Samsung had shown first prototypes of 80 nm DDR2 memory already in September 2003 - and predicted back then that the technology would be introduced to support DDR3 memory, which was initially expected to be released sometime in 2004. With a more conservative DDR3 memory roadmap in place, 80 nm was moved down into the DDR2 space.

And while Samsung today stated that "the move to 80-nm circuitry was sped up," there appears to have been a significant delay in bringing 80 nm to the market: According to a press release from September 2004, Samsung planned to launch 80 nm DDR2s in the second half of 2005. However, it is believed that Samsung still has about a six to eight month lead over the competition in building memory on this scale.

The new 80 nm memory modules use a proprietary 3D transistor technology named recess channel array transistor (RCAT). According to the manufacturer, RCAT and reduces transistor area space by implementing a 3D structural design and increases the integration level for higher density on a given area.