Hyundai samples lower power 128-Mbit DDR memory

SEOUL -- Hyundai Electronics Industries Ltd. today (March 5) announced samples of a 128-mbit double data rate SDRAM for the DDR266 or PC2100 standards, using a new 0.18-micron process technology. The Korean chip maker said the third-generation, high-bandwidth device "reiterates" its commitment to DDR technology.

The new memory device will be produced at Hyundai's advanced wafer fab in Ichon, Korea, and production shipments will be made to customers in the second quarter of 2001, according to the company. The 128-mbit DRAMs operate on 2.5 volts of power while delivering 133-MHz of speed.

"Not only does this technology reduce power consumption by more than 40%, but it also increases memory capacity and efficiency, while doubling the performance of the memory sub-system," said Farhad Tabrizi, vice president of HEI worldwide memory marketing in San Jose. "There's no question that the DDR platform is ready for widespread industry adoption," he added. "The platform has been fully simulated and validated at the second-generation level, and we're now ready to aggressively ramp up with this latest third-generation device."

The DDR format is competing with the Rambus DRAM architecture, which is licensed by Rambus Inc. in Los Altos, Calif. Hyundai's Korean rival, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., is receiving funding from Intel Corp. to help it increase production of 128-Mbit Rambus DRAMs to at least 10 million a month (see Feb. 27 story).

Hyundai's new JEDEC-standard 133-MHz 128-Mbit DDR chip is organized as four banks of 2,097 bits (152-by-16 bit). It offers fully synchronous operations referenced to both rising and falling edges of the clock, said Hyundai. Pricing information was not released by the company.