Samsung unveils next high-speed memory chip

Samsung Electronics has developed the Graphics Double Data Rate 7 (GDDR7) DRAM, a high-speed memory chip the company said is an industry-first.

Samsung Electronics has completed development of the Graphics Double Data Rate 7 (GDDR7), the chipmaker announced on Wednesday. [SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS]

Samsung Electronics has developed the Graphics Double Data Rate 7 (GDDR7) DRAM, a high-speed memory chip the company said is an industry-first.

The official release date of the chip, or when samples will be issued, has not yet been confirmed, a Samsung Electronics spokesperson said. However, testing and verification of the chip will be completed this year.

DRAM, which stands for dynamic random access memory, is a specific type of RAM used in computers, workstations and servers.

Samsung’s latest DRAM chip can transmit 32-gigabits of data per second, the industry’s highest speed. Multiple layers of the GDDR7 stacked into a graphics card can produce a maximum bandwidth of 1.5 terabytes per second, which is faster than the GDDR6, which has a maximum bandwidth of 1.1 terabytes per second. The speed is equivalent to transmitting 380 full-HD movies per second.

The chipmaker said the enhancements were made possible by applying the Pulse Amplitude Modulation (PAM3) technology, a form of data transmission using altering signal pulses. PAM3 technology enables 1.5-bit of data per one signaling cycle, whereas the previous Non-Return-to-Zero (NRZ) approach sent 1-bit of data per cycle.

The latest chip is also 20 percent more energy efficient and reduces thermal resistance by 70 percent compared to the previous GDDR6 model.

“Our GDDR7 DRAM will help elevate user experiences in areas that require outstanding graphics performance, such as workstations, PCs and game consoles, and is expected to expand into future applications such as AI, high-performance computing and automotive vehicles,” said Yongcheol Bae, Executive Vice President of Memory Product Planning Team at Samsung Electronics. “The next-generation graphics DRAM will be brought to market in line with industry demand and we plan on continuing our leadership in the space.”

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]