Elpida Memory today announced that as of the end of July it had started sample shipments of the smallest chip now available in the DRAM semiconductor memory industry. The new chip uses ultra fine-width process migration technology to achieve a circuit line width of 25 nanometers (nm). Elpida completed development of this advanced manufacturing process in May and has begun to apply the process to commercial production.

The new 25nm process-generation product now being shipped is a DDR3 SDRAM with a memory capacity of 2-gigabits (see product specifications below). A 25nm 4-gigabit DDR3 SDRAM is expected to become commercially available by the end of 2011.

These 25nm-process products will be used for PC and server applications. The process will also be used to develop applications of Elpida's Mobile RAM for use in various kinds of mobile devices, starting with the growth areas of smart phones and tablet PCs.

Special features of the 25nm SDRAM include lower current usage (roughly 15% less during operation, 20% less when on standby) compared with Elpida's current process 30nm-generation products and one of the highest data transfer rates in the industry.

Key Features of the New 25nm DDR3 SDRAM

Part number: EDJ2104BFBG / EDJ2108BFBG
Manufacturing process: 25nm CMOS
Memory density: 2-gigabit
Data width: x4-bit / x8-bit Per pin data transfer rate: 1866Mbps and higher
Supply Voltage (VDD): 1.5V, 1.35V (Low voltage)
Operating case temperature range (TC): 0 to 95°C