Samsung, Micron collaborate on ‘game changing’ new memory module

The two companies will work with fellow collaborators Altera, Open Silicon and Xilinx to develop an open specification around the new memory module, which they claim provides more than 15x the performance of a ddr3 module, while consuming 70% less energy per bit. "This collaborative industry effort will serve as an accelerator for highly promising technology that will benefit the entire industry," said Jim Elliott, vp, memory marketing and product planning, Samsung Semiconductor. "The consortium will help to bring about a game changing system solution for system designers and manufacturers that is expected to outperform memory options offered today." The HMC module combines high speed logic process technology with a stack of through silicon via bonded memory die. Samsung claims it will eventually drive exascale cpu system performance growth for next generation hpc systems. Robert Feurle, Micron's vp for dram marketing, said: "HMC is unlike anything currently on the radar. It brings a new level of capability to memory that provides exponential performance and efficiency gains that will redefine the future of memory. Guidance by the industry consortium will help drive the fastest possible adoption of the technology, resulting in what we believe will be radical improvements to computing systems." A video outlining the technology behind the HMC is available here.