​Samsung begins mass production of 10-nanometer class DRAM

Samsung has started mass production of 10-nanometer class 8 Gigabit (Gb) Double Data Rate 4 (DDR4) DRAM, the company has announced, having started producing the memory chip in February.

The company did not reveal the precise sizes, but a source familiar with the matter told ZDNet that it is 18-nanometer and has been shipped to clients.

It boasts a transfer rate of of 3,200 megabits per second and is optimized for use for enterprise clients, the company said.

Samsung, the world's largest maker of memory chips, is the first among rivals SK Hynix and Micron to make a DRAM in the 10-nanometer class. It said it used Quadruple Patterning Technique, first used for NAND flashes, on the DRAM.

NAND flash cells only require a transistor but DRAM requires a capacitor atop the transistor per cell, requiring both to be integrated smaller.

Samsung said that thanks to its very large scale integration technology, the new DRAM processes data 30 percent faster and uses 20 percent less power than previous 20-nanometer class 8GB DDR4 DRAM. Samsung began producing the 20-nanometer class DRAM in 2014.

The company said it is producing them for PC and servers, and will unveil the DRAM for mobile sometime later this year. Its own flagship phones and those of other clients that are slated for release this autumn will likely get the chips.

The company will likely aim to further scale down the size of its DRAM to early and mid 10-nanometer class going forward.

SK Hynix and Micron are developing their own 10-nanometer class DRAM and will likely commercialise them late this year.

As of the fourth quarter last year, the company held a market share of 46.4 percent in DRAM, followed by SK Hynix's 27.9 percent and Micron's 18.9 percent, according to Statista.