Winbond Electronics Corporation, a leading global supplier of semiconductor memory solutions, has unveiled a powerful enabling technology for affordable Edge AI computing in mainstream use cases. The Company's new customized ultra-bandwidth elements (CUBE) enable memory technology to be optimized for seamless performance running generative AI on hybrid edge/cloud applications.

CUBE enhances the performance of front-end 3D structures such as chip on wafer (CoW) and wafer on wafer (WoW), as well as back-end 2.5D/3D chip on Si-interposer on substrate and fan-out solutions. Designed to meet the growing demands of edge AI computing devices, it is compatible with memory density from 256 Mb to 8 Gb with a single die, and it can also be 3D stacked to enhance bandwidth while reducing data transfer power consumption.

Last October, the US Department of Commerce imposed semiconductor restrictions on Chinese imports of equipment for processes of 18 nm and below. SK hynix's Wuxi fab was granted a one-year production license, but geopolitical risks and weak demand prompted the company to reduce wafer starts by about 30% per month in 2Q23, according to TrendForce's latest research.

TrendForce reports that SK hynix had planned to transition its Wuxi fab's mainstream process from 1Y nm to 1Z nm, decreasing the output of legacy processes. However, due to limitations imposed by the US ban, the company instead opted to increase the share of its 21 nm production lines, focus-ing on DDR3 and DDR4 4Gb products. SK hynix's long-term strategy involves shifting its capacity expansion back to South Korea, while the Wuxi fab caters to domestic demand in China and the legacy-process consumer DRAM market.

Xilinx Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), now part of AMD, are always in demand in the semiconductor industry. Today, AMD has shared a letter to Xilinx customers that the selected FPGA device series will receive an 8-25% price increase. Citing AMD's investment into the supply chain, along with increased prices from the suppliers, Xilinx FPGAs will get more expensive. From January 9, 2023, the cost of the Spartan 6 series will increase by 25%, the price of the Versal series will not increase, and all other Xilinx products will increase by 8%. Interestingly, the older series manufactured on 40-28 nm nodes will increase while the latest Versal series doesn't experience any change.

Regarding lead times, the 16 nm UltraScale+ series, 20 nm UltraScale series, and 28 nm 7 series all take 20 weeks from order to delivery, which will remain until the third quarter of 2023. You can read the entire document below.

Demand for DRAM exceeded expectations in 1Q21 as the proliferation of WFH and distance education resulted in high demand for notebook computers against market headwinds, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. Also contributing to the increased DRAM demand was Chinese smartphone brands' ramp-up of component procurement while these companies, including OPPO, Vivo, and Xiaomi, attempted to seize additional market shares after Huawei's inclusion on the Entity List. Finally, DRAM demand from server manufacturers also saw a gradual recovery. Taken together, these factors led to higher-than-expected shipments from various DRAM suppliers in 1Q21 despite the frequent shortage of such key components as IC and passive components. On the other hand, DRAM prices also entered an upward trajectory in 1Q21 in accordance with TrendForce's previous forecasts. In light of the increases in both shipments and quotes, all DRAM suppliers posted revenue growths in 1Q21, and overall DRAM revenue for the quarter reached US$19.2 billion, an 8.7% growth QoQ.

Demand for PC, mobile, graphics, and special DRAM remains healthy in 2Q21. Furthermore, after two to three quarters of inventory reduction during which their DRAM demand was relatively sluggish, some server manufacturers have now kicked off a new round of procurement as they expect a persistent increase in DRAM prices. TrendForce therefore forecasts a significant QoQ increase in DRAM ASP in 2Q21. In conjunction with increased bit shipment, this price hike will likely drive total DRAM revenue for 2Q21 to increase by more than 20% QoQ.

Driven by such factors as the continued development of autonomous driving technologies and the build-out of 5G infrastructure, the demand for automotive memories will undergo a rapid growth going forward, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. Take Tesla, which is the automotive industry leader in the application of autonomous vehicle technologies, as an example. Tesla has adopted GDDR5 DRAM products from the Model S and X onward because it has also adopted Nvidia's solutions for CPU and GPU. The GDDR5 series had the highest bandwidth at the time to complement these processors. The DRAM content has therefore reached at least 8 GB for vehicles across all model series under Tesla. The Model 3 is further equipped with 14 GB of DRAM, and the next-generation of Tesla vehicles will have 20 GB. If content per box is used as a reference for comparison, then Tesla far surpasses manufacturers of PCs and smartphones in DRAM consumption. TrendForce forecasts that the average DRAM content of cars will continue to grow in the next three years, with a CAGR of more than 30% for the period.

Xilinx, Inc., the leader in adaptive and intelligent computing, today announced the industry's first 20-nanometer (nm) space-grade FPGA, delivering full radiation tolerance and ultra-high throughput and bandwidth performance for satellite and space applications. The new 20 nm Radiation Tolerant (RT) Kintex UltraScale XQRKU060 FPGA provides true unlimited on-orbit reconfiguration, over a 10x increase in digital signal processing (DSP) performance - ideal for payload applications - and full radiation tolerance across all orbits.

The XQRKU060 also brings high performance machine learning (ML) to space for the first time. A diverse portfolio of ML development tools supporting industry standard frameworks, including TensorFlow and PyTorch, enable neural network inference acceleration for real-time on-board processing in space with a complete "process and analyze" solution. The XQRKU060's dense, power-efficient compute with scalable precision and large on-chip memory, provides 5.7 tera operations per second (TOPs) of peak INT8 performance optimized for deep learning, a nearly 25X increase compared to the prior generation.

There will be no respite from the rising prices of DRAM chips over 2017, according to a report by Taiwan-based industry observer DigiTimes. Prices of DRAM chips directly affect DDR4 memory modules. Pei-Ing Lee, president of Nanya Technology, a DRAM maker, said that DRAM prices will continue to rally (rise) over the second quarter of 2017, but could stabilize (not necessarily fall) over the second half of the year.

The stability of DRAM prices could still depend on the capex plans of major DRAM manufacturers. The rise in DRAM prices is being attributed to tight supply. Nanya is upgrading its production lines to the new 20 nm node, with early production by the end of Q1-2017. Prices of consumer DDR4 memory modules have nearly doubled over the past six months. A typical 32 GB dual-channel DDR4 memory kit, which could be had for a little over USD $90 in Summer 2016, is now priced around $170.

AMD has the unique distinction of supplying SoCs to all three leading game console vendors simultaneously - Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo. The company, like NVIDIA, is looking forward with perched eyes for manufacturing partner TSMC to get its 20 nanometer silicon fabrication node running full-cylinders. Unlike NVIDIA, which may use the new process to shrink its GPUs, or launch bigger chips based on its "Maxwell" architecture, AMD will treat its console SoCs with optical-shrinks to the new nodes first, so the company could immediately eke out better margins, as console gamers upgrade to Xbox One or the PlayStation 4.

AMD's SoC for the Xbox One, could be the first in line for this optical shrink to 20 nm. This chip features a transistor count of 5 billion, and houses eight 64-bit x86 CPU cores, and a 768 SP GPU based on the Graphics CoreNext architecture; 48 MB of on-die cache, and a quad-channel DDR3 IMC. The chip also features an integrated core logic. AMD's chip for the PlayStation 4 features design inputs from Sony. The chip features the same CPU component, but a 1152 SP GPU, and a 256-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface, wired to 8 GB of memory that's virtualized for both system- and graphics-memory. The 20 nm shrinks of both chips are expected to lower not just manufacturing costs, but also step up energy-efficiency, which could then let Microsoft and Sony save additional costs on other components, such as power and cooling.

SK Hynix Inc. announced that it has developed the world's highest density 16 GB (Gigabytes) of NVDIMM (Non Volatile DIMM) based on 4 Gb (Gigabit) DDR4 using its advanced 20 nm class technology.

This NVDIMM is able to send DRAM data to NAND Flash whose density is two times bigger than the DRAM in a unanticipated power loss by combining DRAM, NAND Flash and the module controller in a single module. Therefore, it is feasible to save and restore data safely as well as performing on the same level with general DDR4 modules. This new product works at 2133 Mbps and with a 64-bit I/O it processes up to 17 GB of data per second running at 1.2V.

Samsung Electronics announced that it is mass producing the industry's most advanced 8-gigabit (Gb) DDR4 memory and 32-gigabyte (GB) module, both of which will be manufactured based on a new 20-nanometer (nm) process technology, for use in enterprise servers.

"Our new 20 nm 8 Gb DDR4 DRAM more than meets the high performance, high density and energy efficiency needs that are driving the proliferation of next-generation enterprise servers," said Jeeho Baek, Vice President of Memory Marketing at Samsung Electronics. "By expanding the production of our 20 nm DRAM line-ups, we will provide premium, high-density DRAM products, while handling increasing demand from customers in the global premium enterprise market."

TSMC may lose out on orders to competing fabs on the 16 nanometer (nm) and 14 nm nodes, in terms of market share, in 2015, according to company chairman Morris Chang. Chips built on the 16 nm node will amount to single-digit percentages of the company's output in the year. Samsung Electronics is expected to take the lead on these processes, as it just netted orders from Qualcomm, a major mobile baseband chip and SoC designer.

Chang stressed that 20 nm and 16 nm will drive revenue for the next three years for major fabs. 20 nm products will account for 10 percent of TSMC's revenues in Q3 2014, will expand to 20 percent in Q4, and contribute over 20 percent of TSMC's revenues in 2015. TSMC's 16 nm node will be competitive for products such as mobile baseband chips, ICs, GPUs, NICs, and server chips. Despite these setbacks in the company's competitive outlook, it expects its revenues to grow by 12.6 to 14.2 percent sequentially in Q3 2014, year over year.

NVIDIA is planning to launch its next high performance single-GPU graphics cards, the GeForce GTX 880 and GTX 870, no later than Q4-2014, in the neighborhood of October and November, according to a SweClockers report. The two will be based on the brand new "GM204" silicon, which most reports suggest, is based on the existing 28 nm silicon fab process. Delays by NVIDIA's principal foundry partner TSMC to implement its next-generation 20 nm process has reportedly forced the company to design a new breed of "Maxwell" based GPUs on the existing 28 nm process. The architecture's good showing with efficiency on the GeForce GTX 750 series probably gave NVIDIA hope. When 20 nm is finally smooth, it wouldn't surprise us if NVIDIA optically shrinks these chips to the new process, like it did to the G92 (from 65 nm to 55 nm). The GM204 chip is rumored to feature 3,200 CUDA cores, 200 TMUs, 32 ROPs, and a 256-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface. It succeeds the company's current workhorse chip, the GK104.

We're still a few days away from the official unveiling of MX100 solid state drive but thanks to a distributor jumping the gun we already have the full scoop on Crucial's latest creation. As previously revealed, the MX100 is set to be the first SSD equipped with Micron's 16 nm MLC NAND flash memory but not all models will have the 16 nm NAND - the 128 GB drive will pack 20 nm chips, while the 256 GB and 512 GB versions will have 16 nm flash.

All three MX100 drives come in a 7 mm-thick 2.5-inch chassis (a 9.5 mm adapter is included), and have a SATA 6.0 Gbps interface, a Marvell 88SS9189 controller, and are backed by a three-year warranty.

SK Hynix Inc. announced that it has developed the world's first highest density of 128 GB (Gigabytes) module based on 8 Gb(Gigabit) DDR4 using its advanced 20 nm class technology.

This module has double density compared to existing 64 GB by taking advantage of TSV(Through Silicon Via) technology. This new product works at 2133 Mbps and with a 64-bit I/O it processes up to 17 GB of data per second. It also runs at ultra low-voltage of 1.2V which does at lower voltage than 1.35V of existing DDR3.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in memory technology, today announced that it is mass producing the most advanced DDR3 memory, based on a new 20 nanometer process technology, for use in a wide range of computing applications. Samsung has pushed the envelope of DRAM scaling, while utilizing currently available immersion ArF lithography, in its roll-out of the industry's most advanced 20-nanometer (nm) 4-gigabit (Gb) DDR3 DRAM.

With DRAM memory, where each cell consists of a capacitor and a transistor linked to one another, scaling is more difficult than with NAND Flash memory in which a cell only needs a transistor. To continue scaling for more advanced DRAM, Samsung refined its design and manufacturing technologies and came up with a modified double patterning and atomic layer deposition.

NVIDIA's upcoming GM107 GPU, the first to be based on its next-generation "Maxwell" GPU architecture, reportedly features a different arrangement of CUDA cores and streaming multiprocessors to those typically associated with "Kepler," although the component hierarchy is similar. The chip reportedly features five streaming multiprocessors, highly integrated computation subunits of the GPU. NVIDIA is referring to these parts as "streaming multiprocessor (Maxwell)," or SMMs.

Further, each streaming multiprocessor features 128 CUDA cores, and not the 192 CUDA cores found in SMX units of "Kepler" GPUs. If true, GM107 features 640 CUDA cores, all of which will be enabled on the GeForce GTX 750 Ti. If NVIDIA is carving out the GTX 750 by disabling one of those streaming multiprocessors, its CUDA core count works out to be 512. NVIDIA will apparently build two GPUs on the existing 28 nm process, the GM107, and the smaller GM108; and three higher performing chips on the next-generation 20 nm process, the GM206, the GM204, and the GM200. The three, as you might have figured out, succeed the GK106, GK104, and GK110, respectively.

Ahead of its rumored mid-February launch, members of Taiwanese tech forum Coolaler.com posted the first performance benchmark numbers of the card. Originally thought to be positioned between the previous-generation GeForce GTX 660 and current GTX 760, the GTX 750 Ti, according to these numbers is on average 10 to 15 percent slower than the GTX 660, which should put its performance somewhere in between the GTX 650 Ti Boost and the GTX 660.

Then again, the testers must be using some very early drivers, and performance figures of the GTX 750 Ti should get clearer as its mid-February launch date approaches. The GeForce GTX 750 Ti is an important GPU for NVIDIA, as it's the first to be based on its next-generation "Maxwell" GPU micro-architecture. NVIDIA is trying the architecture out on current 28 nm process, before launching bigger chips based on the next-generation 20 nm fab process.

SK Hynix Inc. announced that it has developed the world's first 8 Gb (Gigabit) LPDDR4 (Low Power DDR4) using its advanced 20 nm class technology. LPDDR4 is the next generation mobile DRAM interface on the process of standardization which features ultrahigh speed and low power consumption.

This new product works at 3200 Mbps and ultra low-voltage of 1.1V which runs two times faster than 1600 Mbps and does at lower voltage than 1.2V of existing LPDDR3. The Company has been strengthening its cooperation with the customers for the standardization of this new mobile DRAM by providing the samples of LPDDR4 to major customers and SoC(System on Chip) companies.

According to some newly-leaked slides, Intel is planning quite a solid state drive release spree for the second quarter of 2014, one that will see the introduction of three storage solutions - the SSD Pro 2500 Series (codename Temple Star), SSD DC P3500 Series (Pleasantdale) and SSD DC P3700 Series (Fultondale). All three SSD families are going to utilize 20 nm MLC NAND Flash memory, will be available in two form factors and will be backed by a five-year warranty.

SK Hynix Inc. announced that it has developed 6 Gb (Gigabit) LPDDR3 (Low Power DDR3) using its 20 nm class process technology. This product is a high-performance mobile memory solution that features low power consumption and high-density, which is ideal for next generation premium mobile devices.

Four 6 Gb LPDDR3 products can be stacked up and realize a high density of maximum 3 GB (Gigabytes, 24 Gb) solution in a single package. In consequence, this package reduces the operating power as well as the standby current by 30% and the height of the package becomes thin compared to the Company's 4 Gb-based one. In addition, it works at ultra low-voltage of 1.2V thus it satisfies low power consumption which mobile applications demand.

AMD's next generation GPU family that leverages upcoming silicon fab technologies to increase transistor counts, while maintaining or lowering thermal envelopes, is codenamed "Volcanic Islands," and we've known about that for some time now.

The centerpiece of "Volcanic Islands" family is "Hawaii," a high-end GPU that makes up top single- and dual-GPU SKUs; followed by "Maui" and "Tonga." Not much is known about these two. A dual-GPU product with two "Hawaii" chips is confusingly codenamed "New Zealand," which is already used to designate certain Radeon HD 7990 graphics cards. AMD is expected to debut its first "Volcanic Islands" GPUs in Q4-2013, when foundry partner TSMC's swanky new 20 nm node is expected to take flight.

According to a leaked SSD product stack roadmap by Intel, scored by VR-Zone, the company is close to launching its next-generation performance-segment consumer SSDs, the SSD 530 series. The line succeeds Intel's SSD 520 and SSD 525 series, features the latest 20 nm MLC NAND flash, but the same LSI-SandForce SF-2281 controller (probably the latest revision, backed by a better firmware). According to the roadmap, the series should have debuted back in June, which never happened. Apparently, it's off by a month, and Intel moved its launch window to some time between the 8th and 12th of this month.

Intel's SSD 530 series will be available in three form-factors, including the familiar 2.5-inch SATA (7 mm-thick), NGFF M2, and mSATA. The drives will be available in 80 GB, 180 GB, 240 GB, and 360 GB for the M2 and mSATA form-factors; and 180 GB, 240 GB, 360 GB, and 480 GB for the 2.5-inch form-factor. At this point, nothing is known about their rated performance or pricing. Elsewhere in the lineup, SSD 335 series will continue throughout the year, going into Q1 2014, as Intel's mid-range SSD offering.

Intel Corporation today announced the Intel Solid-State Drive DC S3500 Series, its latest solid-state drive (SSD) for data centers and cloud computing. Designed for read-intensive applications such as Web hosting, cloud computing and data center virtualization, the Intel DC S3500 Series is an ideal replacement for traditional hard disk drives (HDD), allowing data centers to save significant costs by moving toward an all-SSD storage model.

Intel SSDs, including the Intel SSD DC S3500 Series, enable transformational improvements in cloud infrastructure, fostering new and enriching Web experiences. End customers experience quicker Web page loads and improved response times as a result of dramatically improved data access times and reduced latency. IT managers and cloud developers are rewarded with improved total cost of ownership as a result of reduced power consumption, more consistent performance and smaller space requirements. More than half of U.S. businesses now employ cloud computing applications, and IDC predicts that worldwide spending on cloud services will reach $44.2 billion this year. Data centers powering these cloud applications need to quickly, efficiently and reliably scale to handle the tremendous growth of connected users and data traffic.

OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, today announced the release of the Vertex 450 SATA III SSD Series featuring the company's proprietary Indilinx Barefoot 3 M10 Series controller. As part of the leading-edge Vertex series, Vertex 450 lives up to its name and bridges the gap between high performance and mainstream solid-state storage. With advanced storage performance, reliability, and quality, the Vertex 450 utilizes 20 nm process geometry NAND flash to meet the needs of today's high-end consumer and client applications.

"As one of the industry's most highly awarded SSD Series to date, the Vertex name has become synonymous with the latest and greatest in flash-based storage providing an exceptional balance of performance and cost efficiency," said Daryl Lang, Senior Vice President of Product Management for OCZ Technology. "The Vertex 450 marks the first time this popular OCZ series utilizes in-house ASIC technology delivering an even greater level of speed, reliability and value for our customers."

GPU buyers can breathe a huge sigh of relief that AMD isn't fixated with next-generation game consoles, and that its late-2013 launch of its next GPU generation is with good reason. The company is building a new GPU micro-architecture from the ground up. Codenamed "Volcanic Islands," with members codenamed after famous islands along the Pacific Ring of Fire, the new GPU family sees AMD rearranging component-hierarchy within the GPU, in a big way.

Over the past three GPU generations that used VLIW5, VLIW4, and Graphics CoreNext SIMD architectures, the component hierarchy was essentially untouched. According to an early block-diagram of one of the GPUs in the series, codenamed "Hawaii," AMD will designate parallel and serial computing units. Serial cores based on either of the two architectures AMD is licensed to use (x86 and ARM), could handle part of the graphics processing load. The stream processors of today make up the GPU's parallel processing machinery.