Samsung Develops Industry's First GDDR7 DRAM

Samsung Develops Industry's First GDDR7 DRAM

Samsung Electronics, a global leader in advanced semiconductor technology, has announced the completion of the industry's first Graphics Double Data Rate 7 (GDDR7) DRAM. This groundbreaking development will be installed in next-generation systems for verification this year, driving growth in the graphics market and solidifying Samsung's technological leadership in the field.

Building on the success of their 24 Gbps GDDR6 DRAM in 2022, Samsung's 16-gigabit (Gb) GDDR7 offering will deliver the highest speed in the industry. Innovations in integrated circuit (IC) design and packaging ensure stability even during high-speed operations. "Our GDDR7 DRAM will enhance user experiences in areas that require exceptional graphics performance, such as workstations, PCs, and game consoles. It is also expected to expand into future applications like AI, high-performance computing (HPC), and automotive vehicles," said Yongcheol Bae, Executive Vice President of Memory Product Planning Team at Samsung Electronics. "We will bring the next-generation graphics DRAM to market based on industry demand and continue to lead in this space."

Samsung's GDDR7 achieves an impressive bandwidth of 1.5-terabytes-per-second (TBps), which is 1.4 times higher than GDDR6's 1.1TBps. It also features a boosted speed per pin of up to 32 Gbps. These enhancements are made possible by adopting the Pulse Amplitude Modulation (PAM3) signaling method for the new memory standard, replacing the Non Return to Zero (NRZ) used in previous generations. PAM3 allows for 50% more data transmission within the same signaling cycle compared to NRZ.

Notably, the latest design is 20% more energy efficient than GDDR6, thanks to power-saving design technology optimized for high-speed operations. Samsung also offers a low-operating voltage option for applications that prioritize power usage, such as laptops.

To minimize heat generation, Samsung utilizes an epoxy molding compound (EMC) with high thermal conductivity for the packaging material, along with IC architecture optimization. These improvements reduce thermal resistance by 70% compared to GDDR6, ensuring stable product performance even during high-speed operations.