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BW0391 JUL 15,1998 17:11 PACIFIC 20:11 EASTERN
( BW)(SAMSUNG-SEMICONDUCTOR) Samsung Semiconductor Comes Out With First Rambus DRAM Module
Business Editors/Technology Writers
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 15, 1998--
-- World's first technology that makes a super-fast 64M Rambus DRAM
commercially viable
-- Breakthrough will shorten the time needed to commercialize PCs
with super-fast products built-in
-- Sophisticated micro BGA packaging utilized
The 64M Rambus DRAM, with the fastest processing speed and highest performance of any memory device today, will become the main memory component in future multimedia PCs.
Samsung Semiconductor has completed development of the world's first Rambus In-line Memory Module (RIMM), which facilitates installation of the 64M Rambus DRAM in a PC.
Intel, Compaq, Dell and other major makers of semiconductors and systems consider the high-speed Rambus DRAM the optimal memory device starting in 1999. The RIMM allows makers to integrate several chips on a single board, making the Rambus DRAM more practical to use.
In March, Samsung Semiconductor completed a prototype Rambus DRAM Direct (RDD) component that is used either on the RIMM or separately from it. The samples of RDD shipped to Intel in May operate at between nine hundred megabits and one gigabit per second, the world's fastest memory product to date. The slower RDD specification set forth by Rambus, Inc. is established at six hundred and eight hundred megabits per second.
Samsung Semiconductor has invested aggressively in the development of next-generation, super-fast memory products, resulting in the RIMM. In June, Samsung Semiconductor presented a technical thesis on 64M Rambus DRAMs, which are low voltage, low power-consuming elements, at the prestigious VLSI Circuit Symposium. Through the presentation, Samsung Semiconductor demonstrated the excellence of its technology to both industry and academia.
Assembly of the RIMM is accomplished with the micro ball grid array (BGA) packaging technology. To date, this state-of-the-art assembly technology has been used with ASIC chips and certain telecommunications devices. However, Samsung Semiconductor has managed to mass produce the micro BGA package for DRAMs and SRAMs as well.
"Our customers have asked us to continue evolving traditional multiplexed DRAMs and support new computing paradigms with packet-style memory architectures," said Avo Kanadjian, vice president of memory marketing at Samsung. "Samsung has chosen RDRAMs as the best packet solution currently available to ramp into high volume, and we look forward to furthering our customers' success using Rambus."
The market for Rambus DRAMs will take shape in 1999. Intel, which holds at least 70% of the world CPU market that shapes the PC, has selected the Rambus chip as the main memory for next-generation PCs. Therefore, the Rambus chip will quickly become one of the mainstream products of the world DRAM market starting in 1999.
This sophisticated memory device is very fast yet operates on low voltage and consumes very low system power. As such, it is a leading next-generation device.
Importantly, Samsung Semiconductor's newly developed RIMM can process data at between 900M and 1G bit per second. A single 64M RDD has processing speeds of between 1.8G and 2.0G Bytes-per-second, twenty-five times faster than the EDO DRAMs produced in Japan. This is also ten times faster than the 64M synchronous DRAM being used as the standard in Intel's PC-100.
Future processing speeds are capable of handling the data equivalent of about 128,000 newspaper pages each second.
The Rambus DRAM is divided into Low Latency, Concurrent and Direct versions, each with different processing speeds. The use of the first two versions (Low Latency and Concurrent) has been restricted to areas such as graphics. By contrast, Samsung Semiconductor's new Rambus DRAM Direct is expected to have significant market potential as a main memory device.
Micro BGA Package
The sophisticated micro ball grid array (BGA) package enhances product performance and integration. It is rapidly being applied to new areas, including ASICs, telecommunications ICs, high-speed SRAMs for workstations, graphics and CPUs. Unlike plastic packages, which require wire bonding, micro BGA uses beam lead bonding. As such, it has a surface area at least 30% smaller than the conventional TSOP package.
Samsung Semiconductor
Samsung Semiconductor, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Korea-based Samsung Electronics. Samsung's Semiconductor Division is the seventh largest semiconductor manufacturer and the leading producer of memory products in the world. Samsung's System LSI products include ASICs, microcontrollers, power devices and media products.
Samsung was the first company to introduce the 64-Megabit DRAM and the first fully functional 256-Megabit DRAM in 1994. In November 1996, Samsung had the world's first working silicon for the 1-Gigabit DRAM. Samsung was also the first to announce working merged DRAM and logic technology and currently claims the largest applications portfolio of MDL-based products.
Samsung Semiconductor's North American headquarters are located in San Jose. For more information, please visit the company website: samsungsemi.com.
Note to Editors: Color photography of the ICs and the modules is available electronically upon request.
--30--dl/sf* rab/sf
CONTACT: Samsung Semiconductor
Richard Haas, 408/544-4124
rhaas@ssi.samsung.com
or
Cain Communications, Inc.
Mark Alden, 408/341-8960
Mark-Alden@caincomm.com
KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS COMED PRODUCT
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