Samsung begins mass production of thinnest LPDDR5X DRAM for smartphones

Samsung has announced it has started to mass produce what it claims to be the industry’s thinnest LPDDR5X DRAM. Intended for portable devices such as smartphones, the memory modules can pack as much as 16GB RAM.

Samsung starts manufacturing the thinnest LPDDR5X DRAM

Samsung has officially announced it has started begun mass production for the industry’s thinnest LP (Low Power) memory modules. The 12-nanometer LPDDR5X DRAM modules should be available in 12GB and 16GB RAM packages.

Samsung indicated it has improved upon “chip packing”. Technical jargon aside, the South Korean tech giant has managed to reduce the gap between memory modules. This has resulted in the LPDDR5X RAM modules shrinking in two dimensions.

Samsung Electronics Begins Mass Production of Industry’s Thinnest LPDDR5X DRAM Packages for On-Device AIhttps://t.co/Mj7jCKhdyK

— Samsung Electronics (@Samsung) August 6, 2024

The new compact LPDDR5X RAM modules rely on optimizing printed circuit board (PCB) and epoxy molding compound (EMC) techniques. Together, these techniques helped achieve an industry-leading thickness of just 0.65mm. Samsung indicated it utilized an optimized “back-lapping” process to achieve the record-breaking height of the entire package.

While the latest RAM modules will be available in 12GB and 16GB packages, Samsung has bigger plans. The company has indicated it intends to develop 6-layer 24GB and 8-layer 32GB modules. Needless to say, even these insanely high sizes would be manufactured as the thinnest LPDDR DRAM packages.

Which devices will feature the new thin RAM modules?

Apart from being a leading smartphone manufacturer, Samsung is also a dominant memory manufacturer. The company makes RAM chips and modules that go into almost all types of computing devices.

. @Samsung‘s latest #LPDDR5X DRAM is as thin as a fingernail at just 0.65mm and reportedly offers a big improvement in #mobile device #thermals.https://t.co/gHjnNpNEYM

— HotHardware (@HotHardware) August 5, 2024

The thinnest LPDDR5X DRAM would go into its upcoming flagship smartphones before trickling down to mid-range devices. Interestingly, Samsung had previously hinted these RAM modules would be embedded in smartphone SoCs that have on-board AI.

The most obvious benefit of using such compact RAM modules is the extra space they can create. However, mobile chipset makers would also be able to pack these RAM chips closer to the CPU and GPU inside the SoC, resulting in faster communication and data transfers between these components.