SEOUL -- Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. today claimed development of a more affordable Rambus DRAM chip, which has a simplified architecture similar to today's mainstream synchronous DRAMs and a die size that's 5% smaller than other RDRAMs.
The new Rambus DRAM is configured as a 4-bank memory rather than 32-bank memories in conventional RDRAM devices, according to the South Korean memory maker. The new 256-megabit Rambus chip is ready for production using a 0.17-micron design rule process, Samsung said.
According to Samsung, the new design will reduce production costs by at least 20%.
Mass production of the "affordable" Rambus DRAM is set to begin in the second half of 2001 with the memory being aimed at mid-priced and low-end PC systems, Samsung said.
Samsung claims it captured at least 50% of the worldwide Rambus DRAM shipments in 2000. The Korean company predicted that between 250-and-300 million Rambus DRAM chips will be shipped in 2001. Samsung estimated that today's Rambus chips are priced two to three times higher than SDRAMs, which has limited the acceptance of the DRAM architecture promoted by Rambus Inc. of Los Altos, Calif.
