Samsung Announces Mass Production Of High-Density ePoP Memory For Smartphones

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a world-leading producer of advanced memory technology devices, is announcing that it has begun mass production of the industry’s first ePoP (embedded package on package) memory. This is a single memory package with 3GB of LPDDR3 (low power double data rate 3), 32GB of eMMC (embedded multi-media card) and a controller. Samsung’s latest ePoP is designed for use in high-end smartphones, as its extremely thin profile combines all necessary components in a single package that is able to be stacked directly on top of the mobile processor, without taking up any additional space. This is a definite improvement over existing eMCP memory solutions requiring two separate packages.

The ePoP memory’s design efficiency saves a considerable amount of precious internal real estate, allowing smartphone manufacturers to convert the extra space to use by components such as a larger battery pack, extending battery life. The thinness and special heat-resistant characteristics of Samsung’s smartphone ePoP require no additional space beyond the 225 square millimeters (15mm x 15mm) taken up by the mobile processor itself. Traditional PoP (while also 15mm x 15mm) consists of the mobile processor and DRAM, but also requires a separate eMMC package at 11.5mm x 13mm, for a total space requirement of 374.5 square millimeters. Moving from the traditional setup to Samsung’s new ePop package decreases the space requirements for these components by almost 40%.

According to Jeeho Baek, Senior Vice President of Memory Marketing at Samsung Electronics, “By offering our new high-density ePoP memory for flagship smart-phones, Samsung expects to provide its customers with significant design benefits, while enabling faster and longer operation of multi-tasking features. We plan to expand our line-up of ePoP memory with packages involving enhancements in performance and density over the next few years, to further add to the growth of the premium mobile market.”

Samsung’s new ePoP offers an ideal “one-package” memory solution that will meet the market’s need for compactness, high speed and high energy efficiency. The 3GB of LPDDR3 mobile DRAM operates at an I/O data transfer rate of 1866 Mb/s, and offers 64-bit I/O bandwidth. This single-package configuration also meets the semiconductor package height ceiling of 1.4 millimeters. OEM’s will be able to use Samsung’s ePoP memory in a broad range of mobile devices. Samsung has already created single-package solutions for wearable devices, which are referred to as “wearable memory”. This new configuration for smartphones can also be easily customized for use in other sophisticated mobile devices such as high-end tablets, in collaboration with global mobile services providers.