Samsung Electronics has developed a 3rd-generation 10-nanometer-class (1z-nm) eight-gigabit (Gb) Double Data Rate 4 (DDR4) DRAM.

Within 16 months since it began mass producing the 2nd-generation 10nm-class (1y-nm) 8Gb DDR4, development of 1z-nm 8Gb DDR4 without the use of Extreme Ultra-Violet (EUV) processing has pushed the limits of DRAM scaling even further.

As 1z-nm is industry’s smallest memory process node, Samsung is now primed to respond to market demands with its new DDR4 DRAM that has more than 20-percent higher manufacturing productivity compared to the previous 1y-nm version.

Samsung will begin mass production of the 1z-nm 8Gb DDR4 within the second half of this year to accommodate enterprise servers and high-end PCs expected to be launched in 2020. The company also plans to release the next generation 1z DRAM (DDR5, LPDDR5) with higher performance and capacity.

In addition, Samsung plans to increase the portion of its main memory production at its Pyeongtaek site.

According to market researcher IHS, Samsung Electronics took the top position in the global DRAM market in the third quarter of last year, with a 43.4 market share. SK hynix was ranked second with 29.1 percent, and Micron was third with 23 percent.

SK hynix finished the development of the product in November last year and plans to begin mass production in the second half of this year. Micron has reportedly finished the development of the second-generation product recently.