SK Hynix aggressively starts the new manufacturing process 1α (also called 1-alpha – or 1a-DRAM) for DRAM chips. This is also used for LPDDR4 by means of EUV lithography and should already be available to first partners in the form of products in the second half of the year.
1x, 1y and 1z follow in the DRAM evolution stage manufacturing 1α. These are the nanometer steps, as they are called 14, 10, 7, 5 and 3 nm in bulk production at TSMC, Samsung and Intel, but at DRAM they are still present in the 10 nm size.
All major memory chip manufacturers are taking this route, but with different approaches. SK Hynix tries to take an offensive approach and relies directly on EUV production and hopes that this will give it an advantage over strong competitors. Micron recently showed that there is another way. Two weeks ago, the industry giant surprised the sale of its 3D-XPoint factory and the quarterly figures reported at the same time with the statement that the manufacturer has only now placed orders with ASML for EUV exposure machines and will rely largely on EUV from 2024 (PDF- Document). Until then, you will and must rely on classic lithography.
From a purely technological point of view, the step from 1α compared to the predecessor 1z is a regular one, manufacturers promised 15 to 20 percent less, for example Energy consumption at the same speed, the smaller nanometer size should also improve the yield. Up to 25 percent more chips will come from the wafer, which will significantly increase profitability and should meet the high demand. Together with EUV, the learning curve for later processes should also start here.
SK Hynix is therefore starting out very cautiously today, 8 gigabit LPDDR4 chips are something that has been regularly available for years, but with 1α with EUV this means new territory. According to the LPDDR4-4266 standard, the first chips in series are to come off the production line. DRAM for DDR5 modules is to appear with the new technology in the following year, the first chips for this are still based on the previous production level.