Samsung:
First 4-Gb NAND Flash Memory
Using 70-nano Technology
The technology enables Samsung to produce the industry's 
smallest memory cell size

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the leader in advanced semiconductor technology, has announced that it has begun mass producing the highest density NAND flash device yet to take advantage of advanced 70-nanometer process technology 4-Gigabit (Gb) NAND flash memory. The faster technology offers larger storage densities for consumer and mobile applications at more affordable pricing.
Samsun's 4Gb NAND flash memory was first developed in September 2003. Following the New Memory Growth Model of double density growth every 12 months (conceived by Dr. Hwang Chang-gyu, president and CEO of Samsung Electronics Semiconductor Business), five generations of NAND flash memory have been introduced consecutively: 256Mb in 1999, 512Mb in 2000, 1Gb in 2001, 2Gb in 2002, 4Gb in 2003 and 8Gb in 2004.
The use of 70nm design technology to produce the 4Gb NAND flash enables Samsung to produce the industry's smallest memory cell size - 0.025um2 (25/1000 micrometers). An advanced Argon fluoride photo-lithography light source has been deployed to etch the finer circuitry permitted by the 70nm process.
Samsung's 70nm 4Gb NAND flash writes data at 16-megabytes per second, a 50 percent enhancement over a 90nm 2Gb device, thereby enabling real time data storage of high-definition (HD) video images.
Samsung also announced the first wafer-out at its new 300mm wafer fabrication line, one month ahead of schedule. The 300mm wafer line, Samsung's Line 14, initially will produce 4,000 wafers starts per month and gradually ramp up to 15,000 wafer starts by the end of 2005. Line 14 produces 70nm 4Gb NAND and 90nm 2Gb NAND flash memory. According to market research firm Gartner Dataquest, 4Gb NAND flash will account for more than 30 percent of total expected sales of $8 billion in NAND flash memory this year.
First 90-nano 512Mb DRAM Memory for Multimedia Applications
Samsung Electronics said that it has produced the first 90-nanometer production samples of 512-Megabit XDR™ (eXtreme Data Rate) DRAM, the fastest memory for multimedia applications.
The Samsung 512Mb XDR DRAM can transmit data with up to 9.6 GigaBytes per second, 12 times faster than DDR400 memory and 6 times faster than leading RDRAM® (PC 800) devices. It uses advanced 90-nanometer memory technology to achieve a peak operating speed of 4.8Gbps at 1.8 volts. The memory device targets high-performance broadband applications that need advanced digital imaging or 3D graphics, such as the latest game consoles, digital TVs, high-end servers and premium workstations.
XDR DRAM from Samsung will be adopted for Sony Computer Entertainment's next generation computer entertainment system, PLAYSTATION®3.
Kang Yeong-ho, vice president of Memory Marketing at Samsung Semiconductor, said, "We have worked closely with Sony Computer Entertainment to assure that the next generation computer entertainment system had what Sony Computer Entertainment wanted for the launch of PLAYSTATION 3: the fastest system memory with optimal thermal performance. Samsung's XDR DRAM is based on Rambus'(NASDAQ:RMBS) XDR memory interface technology. It can support the widest variety of data input and output requirements and will be available in x2, x4, x8 and x16 versions. According to IDC, a market research firm, the XDR DRAM market will grow steadily over the next four years (2006-2009) to reach 800 million units of 256Mb-equivalent memory. nw
First SSD using NAND Flash tech
In a related development, Samsung Electronics also announced on May 23 that it has developed the first Solid State Disk (SSD) based on NAND Flash memory technology for consumer and mobile PC applications.
The NAND-based SSD is a low power, lightweight storage media for notebook PCs, sub-notebook PCs and tablet PCs. Using the industry's highest density 8Gb (Gigabit) NAND Flash, Samsung can build SSDs with a capacity of up to 16GB.
The SSD has a power consumption rate less than five percent of today? hard disk drives (HDDs), enabling next generation mobile PCs to extend their battery life by more than 10 percent.
The NAND-based SSD weighs less than half that of a comparably sized HDD. Free of moving parts, the Samsung SSD memory has minimal noise and heat emission.
Moreover, it is a highly reliable storage media that endures exceptionally well in environments with extreme temperatures and humidity, making it suited for industrial and military applications.
The SSD" performance rate exceeds that of a comparably sized HDD by more than 150 percent. The storage disk reads data at 57 MegaBytes per second (MBps) and writes it at 32MBps.
The market leader in global NAND flash memory since 2002, Samsung has invested heavily to achieve double-density growth every year, further driving the market to higher memory densities and more affordable pricing.
To ensure compatibility, SSDs have been designed to look like HDDs from the outside.
Samsung has developed a full line up of SSDs: 2.5-inch type SSDs that carry 16 NAND Flash devices of 4Gbit or 8Gbit density for 8GBytes and16GByte of storage respectively. 1.8-inch type SSDs will also offer 4GBytes or 8GBytes of density. SSDs will open new demands in the conventional storage industry especially for low density mobile appliances.
The 1.8-inch type SSD will be available in August, 2005 for sub-notebook and tablet PCs.
Samsung expects NAND flash applications to expand from current applications in digital still cameras DSCs, MP3 players, and 3G mobile handsets to mobile and digital consumer appliances, as NAND Flash becomes more widely recognized as a reliable, high- density, data storage medium for the widest range of consumer demands. nw

Hwang Chang-gyu, president and CEO of Samsung Electronics Semiconductor Business, shows off a model of a 4-Gigabit (Gb) NAND flash memory using 70-nano process technology.