Samsung announces the development of an industry first-- 3rd generation 10-nanometer class (aka 1z-nm) 8Gb DDR4 DRAM, the smallest process node for memory produced without need for extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL).

Set for mass production within H2 2019, the 1z-nm process allows Samsung to make 20% more 8Gb DDR4 chips per wafer compared to the 2nd generation 10nm process (aka 1y-nm). An increase in the dies per wafer means the 8Gb DDR4 memory produced is around 20% smaller than the previous generation, bringing about a decrease in production costs and, ultimately, cheaper DRAM prices on the consumer side.

Samsung takes to the Nvidia GPU Technology Conference (GTC) to present a High Bandwidth Memory (HBM2E) product-- Flashbolt a high-performance DRAM claiming data transfers reaching up to 3.2Gbps per pin.

Initially aimed for use in next-gen supercomputers, graphics systems and AI, HBM2E offers a 33% increase in speed over the previous generation HBM2, with a density of 16Gb per die (or double the capacity of the previous generation). Such improvements, Samsung says, allow a single HBM2E package to provide 410GBps data bandwidth and 16GB of memory.

SK Hynix provides technical details of the upcoming DDR5-6400 memory chip at the International Solid State Circuits Conference-- a 16Gb device (organised in 32 banks and 8 bank groups) built using a 2nd-gen 10nm fabrication technology with four metal layers.

As detailed by EETimes, the chip runs at 1.1V and measures 76.22mm2. The presentation had the company describe the challenges of making the chip, such as the implementation of a modified delay-locked loop (DLL) using phase rotator and an injection locked oscillator to reduce the clock jitter and clock duty cycle distortion associated with operating at higher clock speeds.

According to the TrendForce DRAMeXchange division, ongoing oversupply and weak demand will bring about "significant" memory price drops during H1 2019, with prices falling by no less than -15% Q-o-Q in Q2 2019.

Contract prices for DRAM products across all application markets already declined by -15% M-o-M in January 2019, the analyst says, and prices should continue to fall in February and March. As a result, Q1 2019 PC DRAM prices are down by -20% Q-o-Q, while server DRAM prices see an even larger drop of nearly -30% Q-o-Q.

Looking ahead to Q2 2019, DRAMeXchange predicts some recovery in demand, even if oversupply issues persist, leading to the aforementioned price drop of -15% Q-o-Q. As for H2 2019, the analyst believes uncertainties brought about by political and economic events across the world will continue to constrain growth in end demand, and upcoming sources of demand (such as 5G, AIoT, IIoT and automotive electrics) will not affect the DRAM market in 2019.