TechInsights has identified CXMT's new 16 nm DRAM chips in Gloway DDR-6000 UDIMM modules, confirming advancement in the Chinese memory industry. The CXMT 16 Gb DDR5 chip measures 67 square millimeters with a density of 0.239 Gb per square millimeter. The G4 DRAM cells are 20 percent smaller than CXMT's previous G3 generation. This follows the company's progression from 23 nm (G1) and 18 nm (G2) nodes. Despite this advancement, CXMT remains approximately three years behind Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron in manufacturing capabilities. The Hefei-based company achieved this production milestone under US sanctions restricting access to certain manufacturing equipment and materials, setting it back years in gaining production of advanced memory nodes.

TechInsights found these chips in commercially available memory modules, confirming CXMT's entry into DDR5 production. DDR5 technology is projected to be the primary DRAM standard through 2027. The three major DRAM manufacturers have been producing DDR5 through multiple generations, with DDR5 now reaching 10,000 MT/s speeds. This represents CXMT's first DDR5 DRAM product to reach the consumer market. The chips meet basic compatibility requirements for current DDR5 specifications, meaning that the Chinese memory manufacturing has achieved "1z" memory manufacturing on its soil. This marks the second major news for the Chinese semiconductor industry, right after TechInsights also confirmed that YMTC has started shipping 292-layer NAND Flash. With domestic demand for memory and storage projected to remain strong, we wonder if the supply will exceed demand and allow some left-over chips for worldwide usage.