Due to the export restrictions established by the U.S. and other countries, China has been effectively cut off from high-performance memory from external sources. So, it has been actively working to make its own and that progress is growing.
DRAM maker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) revealed its 16 Gb DDR5 chips to the market. The devices made domestically have a chip size measuring 66.99 mm2, resulting in a 0.239 Gb/mm2 bit density.
The export restrictions include the use of 18 nm or smaller DRAM devices and related technological development. However, CXMT developed and successfully released commercial DDR5 DRAM products with a 16.0 nm technology node.
While this DRAM is not as advanced as the top three DRAM players — Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron — the 16 Gb chips are the highest volume memory devices.
These three DRAM leaders started their 16 Gb DDR5 in mass production in 2021, meaning there is now just a three-year technology gap between CXMT and these vendors, according to market research firm TechInsights.
With CXMT skipping 17 nm DRAM node and going directly to 16 nm, the Chinese chipmaker could continue its aggressive roadmap as well, closing this gap even further, TechInsights said.
High gates
Meanwhile, Yangtze Memory Technology Corp. (YMTC), which has been a specific target of American export restrictions, has unveiled its latest 3D TLC NAND flash chip that includes the highest number of vertical gates in a commercial product to date.
YMTC successfully extended its Xtacking 4.0 memory architecture to its 3D NAND devices despite the severe U.S. sanctions against it. The new vertical gates increase bit density to more than 20 Gb/mm2 for the first time in the industry, TechInsights said.
