Elpida Memory on Monday said that it had begun sample shipments of 8Gb DDR3 memory chips that are based on the through silicon via technology (TSV), a crucial technology for next-generation DDR4 standard. The chip are aimed at tablets, ultra-slim notebooks and other systems that do not use traditional memory modules.

The chip - the first in the industry - is a low-power 8Gb (1GB) DDR3 SDRAM assembled in a single package that consists of four 2Gb DDR3 SDRAMs fitted to a single interface chip using through silicon via technology (TSV). The chip has 32-bit interface and cannot be mounted onto conventional memory modules without using certain high-end print-circuit boards.

In the case of notebook PCs, Elpida believes that trial use of its 8Gb TSV DRAM samples will demonstrate that compared with systems that use SO-DIMM, operating power can be reduced by 20% and standby power by 50%. Also, the chip mounting area can be reduced by 70%, the chip height can be decreased and the DIMM socket can be eliminated. The new TSV DRAM will be presented as an eco-friendly DRAM that can contribute greater energy savings and enable thin notebook PCs, tablet PCs and other mobile computing products experiencing rapid market growth to become even smaller, thinner and lighter.

TSV is three-dimensional stack packaging technology, which involves stacking together multiple chips vertically through electrical connections with metal-filled via holes in the SI die. Compared with the existing connection method of wire bonding multiple chips, TSV greatly reduces the length of wires in the semiconductor design to enable faster speeds, lower power consumption, smaller package size and other important chip function advantages.

Elpida began developing TSV, now recognized as a key next-generation memory chip technology, in 2004 based on a grant program hosted by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), a research endeavor founded by the Japanese government. Since then Elpida has continued to develop TSV technology. In 2009 it successfully developed the industry's first TSV DRAM based on stacking together eight 1Gb DDR3 SDRAMs.

Tags: Elpida, DDR3, DRAM, TSV, DDR4