ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), China’s leading producer of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips, has advanced its manufacturing technology to 16 nanometres, narrowing the gap with industry giants Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Micron Technology.
The Hefei-based company has developed a consumer-grade chip using the advanced chipmaking node, a notable achievement amid ongoing US sanctions, according to a report from Canadian integrated circuits (IC) research firm TechInsights. The new 16-gigabit (Gb) chip employs DDR5 technology, which is expected to dominate the DRAM market through 2027.
Measuring about 67 square millimetres, the chip achieves a storage density of 0.239Gb per square millimetre, according to the report. CXMT’s latest G4 DRAM technology features memory cells that are 20 per cent smaller than those in its previous G3 technology node.
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CXMT has made “significant progress” since its G1 generation node of 23nm and G2 of 18nm, bringing it much closer to its global rivals in South Korea and the US, according to the report.
CXMT’s 16Gb DDR5 chip found in the Gloway DDR5-6000 UDIMM. Photo: TechInsights alt=CXMT’s 16Gb DDR5 chip found in the Gloway DDR5-6000 UDIMM. Photo: TechInsights>
The company’s advancements serve as a benchmark for China’s progress in DRAM memory chips despite US sanctions.
CXMT has not made any mention of the chip on its official website. The company did not respond to a request for comment.
Initially struggling with a low production yield of 20 per cent for its DDR5 chips, CXMT has since achieved an 80 per cent yield rate as it continued to ramp up production.
“The top three DRAM makers started 16Gb DDR5 mass production in 2021, which means there is now a three-year technology gap between CXMT and these vendors,” said TechInsights senior analyst Jeongdong Choe, who wrote the report.
South Korea’s Samsung and SK Hynix, along with US-based Micron, currently lead the DDR5 memory market with production primarily using 12nm and 14nm nodes.
With this latest offering, CXMT has expanded its memory product portfolio, which also includes DDR3L, DDR4, LPDDR4X, and LPDDR5. TechInsights based its analysis on a teardown of the commercial Gloway DDR5-6000 memory module, which contains 16 of CXMT’s 16Gb DDR5 chips.
