Micron Unveils World’s Most Advanced DRAM Technology: 1β process node
Micron announced that it has shipped samples of DRAM chips produced at its 1β process node to select smartphone manufacturers and chipset partners. This is the most advanced DRAM technology in the world and is ready for mass production.
Micron said it will use a new process technology on LPDDR5X memory to provide a maximum speed of 8.5 Gbps. The 1β process node offers significant gains in performance, bit density, and power efficiency, as well as lowering DRAM costs, resulting in broad market advantages. In addition to mobile devices, the 1β process node will provide low-latency, low-power, high-performance DRAM that will benefit applications ranging from smart vehicles to data centers.
Over the past few years, Micron has aggressively advanced its manufacturing and R&D technologies. Last year, Micron began to mass-produce DRAM chips using the 1α process node, and this year, with the mass production of the world’s first 232-layer 3D TLC NAND flash memory, it established its leadership in the DRAM and NAND fields for the first time in its history. The 1β process node launched this time will further consolidate its market advantages.
Unlike many companies in the industry, Micron does not plan to use extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography to produce memory chips in the short term but will continue to use deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography. At the same time, it used its second-generation HKMG technology on the 1β node. Micron said that the energy efficiency of the new process node has been increased by about 15%, the bit density has been increased by more than 35%, and each chip provides 16Gb capacity.
Micron plans to continue to invest billions of dollars to transform the fab into a technology-leading, highly automated, sustainable, and artificial intelligence-driven facility, including an investment in the Hiroshima fab in Japan. It is understood that this factory will use the 1β process node to mass produce DRAM.
