World's First 16-Gb DDR5 DRAM supports transfer rates up to 5,600 Mbps

SK hynix Inc. announced to launch the world’s first DDR5 DRAM. It is a high-speed and high-density product optimized for Big Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) as a next generation standard of DRAM.

Since SK hynix announced the development of the World’s First 16 Gigabit (Gb) DDR5 DRAM in November 2018, the Company has provided its major partners including Intel with sample products and has completed various tests and verification of its functions and compatibility. This will allow SK hynix to provide its customers with the products once the DDR5 market becomes active.

In the meantime, SK hynix has conducted a joint-operation of the on-site lab, system-level test, and simulation with System-on-Chip1) (SoC) manufacturers to verify the functions of DDR5. Also, the Company validated the compatibility of its DDR5 and the major components of DRAM module including register clock driver2) (RCD), which affects DRAM performance, and power management integrated circuit3) (PMIC). Through these verifications, SK hynix has been collaborating closely with its global partners.

SK hynix’s DDR5 supports transfer rate of 4,800 ~ 5,600 Megabit-per-second (Mbps), which is 1.8 times faster than the previous generation – DDR4. It can transmit 9 full-HD (FHD) movies (5GB each) per second with a 5,600Mbps transfer rate. Its operating voltage is 1.1V being lowered from 1.2V of DDR4, which means that its power consumption is reduced by 20%.

Another notable specification of the Company’s DDR5 is Error Correcting Code (ECC) inside the chip that can correct even 1-bit-level errors by itself. With the ECC, the reliability of applications will be increased by 20 times. The Company’s DDR5 also could build up to 256 Gigabyte (GB) capacity applying through-silicon-via (TSV) technology.

The Company expects that these eco-friendly semiconductor memories will reduce both the power consumption and operating costs of data centers as DDR5 consumes less power and significantly improves its reliability.

Meanwhile, DDR5 standard was published by JEDEC (JEDEC Solid State Technology Association) earlier in July 2020. According to market intelligence provider Omdia, the DDR5 demand will begin its surge in 2021, and it will possess 10% of the total global DRAM market in 2022 and increase to 43% in 2024.

Synopsys, Renesas, Montage Technology, and Rambus have also stated their commitment to the continuing cooperation in creating the DDR5 ecosystem.