CXMT has shoved High-k Metal Gate tech into DRAM, giving China’s memory hopeful a sharper stick for chasing Samsung and SK hynix.
According to ZDNET the Chinese DRAM outfit has applied High-k Metal Gate, or HKMG, technology to its G4 process and LPDDR5X products. The finding came from semiconductor analysis firm TechInsights.
It is a useful step for CXMT because DRAM scaling gets ugly when old silicon dioxide insulation becomes too thin. At nanometre scale, current can leak through those layers, wasting power and making chips harder to shrink.
HKMG swaps the old silicon-based insulating layer for a high-k material such as hafnium oxide. The “k” refers to the dielectric constant, which is a measure of how well a material stores charge.
Hafnium oxide can hold more charge at the same voltage than silicon dioxide, helping smaller DRAM cells behave themselves. The technology replaces the old polysilicon gate electrode with metal gate stacks, cutting the electrical dead zone known as polysilicon depletion.
For DRAM, that means less leakage, better power efficiency and faster transistor switching. CXMT’s G4 process is widely regarded as a 16nm-class node, which puts it behind the leading memory makers but puts it on track to catch up quickly.
ZDNet Korea said CXMT has commercialised DDR5 and LPDDR5 products using the G4 process. TechInsights senior vice-president Choi Jeong-dong said CXMT remains about two generations behind the leaders, but is still improving its HBM roadmap.
CXMT is reportedly in risk production for HBM2E using its G3 18nm-class DRAM process. It is sampling HBM3 on its G4 process, which shows the company is no longer just making cheap commodity memory.
Choi said CXMT is developing a G5 15nm-class DRAM process, which points towards a more advanced node push. Samsung, SK hynix and Micron are not standing still while China’s DRAM outfit tries to crash the party.
The established memory makers are pushing towards sub-10nm D0a DRAM, 4F-square cell designs and 3D DRAM structures. Those technologies are meant to squeeze more cells into less space without the process turning into a yield bin fire.
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