China's CXMT: "4F² Cell Structure Technology Advances ... New DDR5 Memory to Be Unveiled This Year"

CEO Cao Kanyu attends event in Shanghai
"Vertical transistors boost density and power efficiency"
Announces plans to launch server DRAM using the new technology

Chinese memory chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) said it had made technological progress in developing the 4F² cell structure, considered a key technology for next-generation DRAM, and announced plans to unveil a new product using it by the end of this year.

ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) logo. Reuters-Yonhap News.

According to Hong Kong-based daily newspaper the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on October 12, CXMT CEO Cao Kanyu said at an industry event held in Shanghai, China, over the weekend that the company had made a key breakthrough in developing the next-generation 4F² structure. He also said the company plans to launch a server DDR5 memory product using the technology by the end of the year.

4F² refers to the structure indicating the area occupied by an individual DRAM memory cell. It can reduce cell area by about 33% compared with the 6F² structure used in most commercial DRAM today, allowing more data to be stored in the same area. The actual improvement in density varies depending on factors such as product design and manufacturing processes.

The key technology is the vertical surrounding-gate (VSG) transistor developed independently by CXMT. It switches the transistor channel from the conventional horizontal structure to a vertical one, reducing leakage current and increasing density. CXMT said it also redesigned key steps in the existing semiconductor manufacturing process to develop the technology.

However, CXMT did not disclose specific product specifications or a launch date. The actual performance and mass-production status of the server DRAM incorporating the technology have also yet to be confirmed.

South Korea's memory industry is also accelerating development of similar technologies. In June last year, SK hynix unveiled a technology roadmap for next-generation DRAM using the 4F² structure at the VLSI Symposium 2025, an international semiconductor conference held in Kyoto, Japan. The technology increases memory density by converting conventional horizontal transistors to vertical ones. In June this year, the company also presented research findings on the electrical characteristics of related DRAM.

SCMP reported that CXMT has continued efforts to showcase its technological capabilities since listing in July on the STAR Market, a technology-focused market of the Shanghai Stock Exchange often called "China's Nasdaq." The company recently said it had begun mass production on its fifth-generation DRAM manufacturing platform, "G5." It also claims to have secured more than 300 patents related to 4F² technology since its establishment in 2016.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.