Samsung hints to DDR4 with first validated 40 nm DRAM

Samsung today announced that it has developed and validated its first 40 nm DRAM chip, which are expected to consume 30% less power than current 50nm modules, and is an important step toward DDR4 development.


The 40 nm 1 Gb memory component, which will be used in a 1 GB 800 Mb/s DDR2 module for notebooks (SODIMM), has been validated for Intel's GM45 chipset platform, Samsung said. The company is also developing a 2 Gb version, which should be ready for mass-production by the end of the year.

Compared to the current 50 nm memory, Samsung believes that it will be able to accelerate the time-to-market of new memory devices by 50% and increase productivity by 60%. The 40 nm memory modules are expected to consume 30% less power than current devices. 

Perhaps most interesting, Samsung noted that the 40 nm node marks a "a significant step" toward the development of "ultra-high performance DRAM technologies," such as DDR4. The company did not provide further details, however, but we have heard from industry sources that DDR4 should not be expected to surface before 2012.