To address the significant increase in data over the next 10-15 years, and the demand for more energy-efficient network infrastructure and servers, ARM has announced the ARM CoreLink CCN-504 cache coherent network. This advanced system intellectual property (IP) can deliver up to one terabit of usable system bandwidth per second. It will enable SoC designers to provide high-performance, cache coherent interconnect for 'many-core' enterprise solutions built using the ARM Cortex-A15 MPCore processor and next-generation 64-bit processors.

LSI, a leading designer of intelligent semiconductors that accelerate storage, mobile networking and client computing, and Calxeda, an innovative supplier of disruptive SoC technology for the server market, are lead licensees for the CoreLink CCN-504 launch.

JEDEC Solid State Technology Association, the global leader in the development of standards for the microelectronics industry, today announced the initial publication of its widely-anticipated Synchronous DDR4 (Double Data Rate 4) standard. JEDEC DDR4 (JESD79-4) has been defined to provide higher performance, with improved reliability and reduced power, thereby representing a significant achievement relative to previous DRAM memory technologies. The new DDR4 standard is available for free download from the JEDEC website at www.jedec.org/standards-documents/results/jesd79-4%20ddr4.

DDR4 offers a range of innovative features designed to enable high speed operation and broad applicability in a variety of applications including servers, laptops, desktop PCs and consumer products. In addition to the advantages described later in this release, the new technology has been defined with a goal of simplifying migration and enabling adoption of an industry-wide standard.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced memory technology, today announced that it has begun sampling the industry's first 16-gigabyte (GB) double data rate-4 (DDR4), registered dual inline memory modules (RDIMMs), designed for use in enterprise server systems.

"By launching these new high-density DDR4 modules, Samsung is embracing closer technical cooperation with key CPU and server companies for development of next-generation green IT systems," said Wanhoon Hong, executive vice president, memory sales & marketing, Samsung Electronics. "Samsung will also aggressively move to establish the premium memory market for advanced applications including enterprise server systems and maintain the competitive edge for Samsung Green Memory products, while working on providing 20 nanometer (nm) class based DDR4 DRAM in the future."

Micron Technology, Inc., one of the world's leading providers of advanced semiconductor solutions, today announced development of its first fully functional DDR4 DRAM module. The company has begun sampling and has received feedback from major customers to support quick implementation for applications in 2013.

It is expected that the enterprise and micro-server markets will take full advantage of the new features and specifications designed into DDR4, accelerating early adoption of the technology. In addition, the fast-growing ultrathin client and tablet markets will also benefit from new opportunities enabled by the power savings and performance features of Micron's DDR4.

With over-production, swelling-inventories, and cutthroat competition that doesn't allow even subtle price-increases, DDR3 is a lost-cause for DRAM makers such as Samsung. It is hence hedging its bets on the early arrival of DDR4, and the only company that can make that happen is Intel. Samsung is not only a major supplier of DRAM memory, but also a big player in server memory. It had its first DDR4 UDIMM ready as early as in January 2011. Reports of Intel slating DDR4-equipped platforms in 2013 has Samsung perturbed. Samsung and Hynix are the only two DRAM majors with developed DDR4 products. According to DigiTimes' analysis, DRAM vendors see DDR4 as the only way they can pull themselves out of their ailing situation.

The computing industry will see its next transition to a new memory standard only by 2014, and enterprise processors based on the "Haswell" microarchitecture will drive the change, according to a VR-Zone report. While client processors based on the Haswell architecture will retain current DDR3 memory standard with a possibility of higher DDR3 clock speeds, enterprise processors under the "Haswell-EX" family will feature the industry's first DDR4 memory controllers for x86. Following that, DDR4 will filter down to future client platforms. Pictured below, is a DDR4 UDIMM by Samsung.

According to DRAMeXchange, a research division of TrendForce, the following report presents a forecast of six major DRAM and NAND Flash industry trends in 2012-2015.

Trend-1: Mainstream PC DRAM Specification DDR3 to Dominate Market Until 2014

DDR3 has been the mainstream PC DRAM specification since 2011, and DRAMeXchange expects it will remain so until 2014. Although JEDEC will officially announce standards for DDR4 in 2012, DRAMeXchange is conservative as to whether the new specification will follow the historical pattern set by DDR and DDR2 and hit the market in 2014-2015, as the marginal benefit to PC performance provided by DDR4 will be limited. However, Intel will still hold decisive influence over the matter.

Micron Technology, one of the biggest DRAM companies, has announced that it's working the JEDEC standards organization for computer memory, to standardize a new DRAM interface and die-stacking technology called three-dimensional stacking, or 3DS, which may be incorporated into the upcoming DDR4 standard. X-bit labs has a nice summary of how 3DS works:

The idea behind 3DS is to use specially designed and manufactured master-and-slave DRAM die, with only the master die interfacing with the external memory controller. 3DS technology uses optimized DRAM die, single DLL per stack, reduced active logic, single shared external I/O, improved timing, and reduced load to the external world. This combination of features can improve timing, bus speeds, and signal integrity while lowering both power consumption and system overhead for next-generation modules, according to Micron.

JEDEC Solid State Technology Association, the global leader in the development of standards for the microelectronics industry, today announced selected key attributes of its widely-anticipated DDR4 (Double Data Rate 4) standard. With publication forecasted for mid-2012, JEDEC DDR4 will represent a significant advancement in performance with reduced power usage as compared to previous generation technologies. When published, the new standard will be available for free download at www.jedec.org.

DDR4 is being developed with a range of innovative features designed to enable high speed operation and broad applicability in a variety of applications including servers, laptops, desktop PCs and consumer products. Its speed, voltage and architecture are all being defined with the goal of simplifying migration and facilitating adoption of the standard.
A DDR4 voltage roadmap has been proposed that will facilitate customer migration by holding VDDQ constant at 1.2V and allowing for a future reduction in the VDD supply voltage. Understanding that enhancements in technology will occur over time, DDR4 will help protect against technology obsolescence by keeping the I/O voltage stable.

Hynix Semiconductor Inc. ('Hynix') today announced that it has developed 2Gb(Gigabit) DDR4 DRAM and DDR4 DRAM based 2GB(Gigabyte) ECC-SODIMM(Error Check & Correction Small Outline Dual In-line Memory Module) applying its leading 30nm class process technology. The DDR4 DRAM product meets the JEDEC standard and the module product is designed for the micro server.

DDR4 DRAM is a next generation memory product which consumes less electronic power while it transfers data as twice as faster than the existing DDR3 DRAM. The device works at the industry's fastest speed of 2400Mbps(Megabits per second), which is also 80% faster than DDR3 1333Mbps product. The Module product operates at such a low voltage of 1.2V and processes up to 19.2 GB (Gigabytes) of data per second with a 64-bit I/O.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a global leader in advanced semiconductor technology solutions, announced today that it completed development of the industry's first DDR4 DRAM module last month, using 30 nanometer (nm) class process technology.

"Samsung has been actively supporting the IT industry with our green memory initiative by coming up with eco-friendly, innovative memory products providing higher performance and power efficiency every year," said Dong Soo Jun, president, memory division, Samsung Electronics. "The new DDR4 DRAM will build even greater confidence in our cutting-edge green memory, particularly when we introduce four-gigabit (Gb) DDR4-based products using next generation process technology for mainstream application."

PC DDR4-SDRAM, the successor standard for DDR3-SDRAM, which continues increasing memory bandwidths while maintaining the same electrical footprints, surfaced on JEDEC roadmaps, at a recent MemCon conference in Tokyo, Japan. Just the target clock speed range for DDR2-SDRAM was 400~1066 MHz, and that of DDR3-SDRAM is 1066~2133 MHz, the DDR4-SDRAM standard will aim for clock speeds between 2133 and 4266 MHz, with DRAM voltages of 1.1~1.2V, the voltages standards-compliant DDR3 memory will ultimately end up with. Some of the first DDR4 memory chips will be built on the 32 nm or 36 nm manufacturing processes. JEDEC expects sampling of the new memory type to start in 2011 for the industry to come up with appropriate memory controllers and deployment platforms, while actual mass production is slated by 2015.

The transition between PC memory standards has always relied on changes in PC platforms for effectiveness. For example, the LGA 775 saw transition between two standards, the i915 MCH supported DDR and DDR2 memory, i925 onwards it became mandatory for people to use DDR2 memory as the platform required it. In came DDR3 and it became optional for users to choose it over DDR2. Even now, there is only a gradual transit between DDR2 and DDR3. With Nehalem however, it will become mandatory to use DDR3 memory, both with the LGA 1366 and LGA 1160 socket motherboards in either two or three channel configurations.

Qimonda has already chalked out plans for a smooth transition to DDR4 PC memory. According to Qimonda's development plan, DDR4 would be out by 2012. The memory standard will operate at (DDR) frequencies as high as 2,133 MHz at an approximate voltage of 1.2 V and by 2013, we could be seeing 2,667 MHz memory at 1.0 V, a phase during which there's a transition between the current DDR3 and future DDR4 PC memory standards.