Samsung is reportedly gearing up to revamp its 6th-generation 1c DRAM design to improve yield rates and get ahead in the race with its forthcoming HBM4 process. The tech giant realizes that its 1c DRAM chip will be pivotal not just for the HBM4 process but also for boosting the success of Samsung’s memory business overall.
The redesign of Samsung’s 1c DRAM process has become essential, especially since it’s a critical component of its HBM4 strategy. According to ZDNet Korea, Samsung started evaluating various designs for its state-of-the-art DRAM processes in the latter half of 2024. Now, they’ve reconfigured their advanced 1c DRAM with an eye toward ensuring smooth industry adoption of their future HBM processes, avoiding the hurdles faced by past HBM3 derivatives from integrating with major players like NVIDIA.
Reports suggest that Samsung’s previous DRAM processes struggled to meet yield rate targets, which were hovering between 60% to 70%. This shortfall prevented them from moving into mass production. The root of the problem appears to be the 1c DRAM chip’s size. Samsung’s initial approach was to shrink the chip size for increased production capacity, but this inadvertently compromised process stability and led to lower yield rates.
ZDNet Korea mentions, “Samsung Electronics has altered the design of its 1c DRAM to boost chip size and is focusing on improving yields, aiming for the middle of this year. They seem dedicated to achieving stable mass production of the next-generation memory, even if it incurs higher costs.”
Samsung’s dependency on the 1c DRAM process for HBM4 development is crucial, especially as rivals like SK Hynix and Micron have already made significant headway. With previous setbacks like the HBM3 challenges casting a shadow, Samsung needs this process to succeed to maintain industry credibility and competitiveness.
There’s still some uncertainty about the outcomes for Samsung’s 6th-generation DRAM process. However, insiders suggest we might see significant developments in upcoming months. These advancements could, ideally, set Samsung’s HBM4 process on the right path toward mass production, anticipated by the year’s end.
