<not quite off topic> LG produces a new Rambus DRAM, which is the type of memory used by the Mpact media processor. LG is also an Mpact partner with Toshiba and Chromatics................
koreaherald.co.kr
11-15-97 : LG Semicon Unveils World's 1st 64-Megabit Rambus DRAM; New
Memory Chip Offers Data Rate of 700 Megabytes a Second
By Yu Kun-ha Staff reporter
LG Semicon announced yesterday that it has developed a 64-megabit Rambus dynamic
random access memory (RDRAM) for the first time in the world. The 64-megabit chip is a
second-generation RDRAM with a data rate of 700 megabytes a second, about four times
higher than that of high-speed synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), the current mainstay of the
memory market. The company said the new chip incorporates a new design technology which
will be adopted for third-generation RDRAM, called Direct Rambus DRAM.
Direct Rambus DRAM is based on the memory specifications set by Intel for its
next-generation central processing unit (CPU), the P7, which will debut in 1999. The new
Intel microprocessor calls for a memory chip with a data rate of 1.6 gigabytes per second to
eliminate the speed gap between it and the main memory. Currently, memory chips operate at
a slower speed than Intel microprocessors, retarding the pace of performance improvement
of computer systems. With Intel's support, Direct Rambus DRAM is expected to emerge as
the main memory chip of choice beginning in 1999, replacing synchronous DRAM.
LG Semicon said the 64-bit RDRAM chip will help it advance the development of Direct
Rambus DRAM by about a year as it has already secured the key chip design technology.
LG's new chip will initially be used as a graphic memory for workstations, servers, digital TV
sets and ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) exchanges which require high-capacity graphic
memory chips.
Currently, the main graphic memory chips are synchronous DRAM and EDO (extended data
out) DRAM. But LG Semicon believes its RDRAM excels these chips. The company has
recently begun mass production of 18-megabit RDRAM, seeking to capture a substantial
share of the graphic chip segment. The graphic segment accounts for about 25 percent of the
entire memory market. The new 64-megabit chip can store four times more data than the
18-megabit product. The main difference between the two, however, lies in the chip design.
LG Semicon said the 64-megabit chip features a new chip design technology called bank
interleaving, which doubles the speed and accuracy in data storage and processing. Unlike
first-generation RDRAM, or for that matter any other type of memory chip, LG Semicon's
new chip features two banks, rooms which store and process data. These two banks receive
and handle commands from the main memory simultaneously. Compared with one-bank
chips, two-bank chips are less likely to make errors, since when one bank fails to handle
commands properly, the other goes into action immediately.
This two-bank system also boosts data processing speed because it eliminates the need for
the main memory to send commands back to a one-bank graphic memory when it fails to
handle them on the first try. LG Semicon said this bank interleaving technology will be used to
design Direct Rambus DRAM, whose development is scheduled to be completed by the third
quarter of 1998, at least a year ahead of other chip manufacturers.
The company plans to begin mass production of the 64-megabit chip early next year. It also
intends to apply the bank interleaving technology to 18-megabit chips as well, of which it is
turning out one million units a month. According to a company official, the 64-megabit chip
has provided the company with the basis on which to lead the development of next-generation
memory chips. ''Our goal is to capture a 30 percent share of the world Rambus DRAM
market in the future,'' the official said.
The company will demonstrate its new chip at the '97 Comdex Show which opens in Las
Vegas Nov. 17. |
