SK Hynix develops highest density DRAM-based memory system

South Korea’s SK Hynix Inc. said on Monday that it has developed its first double data rate 5 (DDR5) DRAM-based compute express link (CXL) memory samples, composed of DRAMs with the industry’s highest density.

The CXL memory, dubbed a next-generation memory system, is an advanced hardware interface that processes high-performance computing systems faster than the existing ones. An interface is used in the mainboard of digital devices.

The first CXL memory device developed by SK Hynix adopts its most advanced technology, or the fourth-generation 10-nanometer node with a 96-gigabyte memory capacity. It is for use in data-intensive applications such as artificial intelligence and big data-related devices.

The CXL is composed of 24Gb DDR5 DRAMs, the latest tech node, developed by Hynix.

Last December, Hynix unveiled the samples of 24 Gigabit (Gb) DDR5 DRAM, the industry’s highest density for a single chip. It was produced with the cutting-edge 1a nanometer technology that utilizes extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment.

The DDR5 DRAM allows for more flexible memory expansion than the current server market, where the memory capacity and performance are fixed once the server platform is adopted. 

Next year, SK Hynix plans to begin mass production of DDR5 DRAM-based CXL memory, which the company expects will place it at the forefront of the next-generation memory chip market.

The world’s No. 2 memory chipmaker has been developing CXL technologies in a consortium with other chipmakers and server producers since 2019. The companies in the consortium include Intel Corp., Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Dell and Montage Technology Co.

Currently, Dell has been leading the CXL technology development, Hynix said in a statement.

SK Hynix will unveil the DDR5 DRAM-baed CXL memory at international events between this month and October.

The CXL is based on the peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe),  a new standardized interface, which connects a computer to peripheral devices (PCIe).

PCIe improves the efficiency of the central processing unit, graphics processing unit and accelerator, as well as memory and storage systems.

Write to Sung-Soo Bae at baebae@hankyung.com
Yeonhee Kim edited this article.