SK Hynix deploys EUV machines in mass production 10nm class LPDDR4 memory

South Korean memory manufacturer SK hynix has started Lpddr4 mass production with euv machines. The company produces its fourth-generation 10nm-class dram, also known as 1anm, with extreme ultraviolet lithography.

SK Hynix writes that it is currently deploying euv machines for its new Lpddr4 modules. These chips have a capacity of 8Gbit and a speed of 4266Mbit/s. The modules would consume up to 20 percent less power compared to its previous Lpddr4 chips. With its new 1anm generation, the company also expects the number of dram chips that can be produced on a single wafer to increase by 25 percent.

According to the company, the first of these new EUV memory chips will be delivered to smartphone manufacturers in the second half of this year. The South Korean memory maker also says it will use euv for all its future dram products. Early next year, for example, the company will deploy its 10nm-class 1anm process with euv for the production of DDR5 memory.

SK hynix already partially used euv lithography in the production of its second generation 10nm node. However, this is the company’s first full deployment of euv equipment for dram mass production. SK hynix is ​​not the only memory manufacturer to use euv for memory production; Samsung started doing that last year. The American Micron is expected to follow by 2024, writes The Register. The chip manufacturers use euv machines from the Dutch ASML. That is the only manufacturer that can make such machines.