CXMT Says It Will Launch 4F2 This Year; Samsung Also Developing It... CTO Song Jaehyeok: "We're Working Hard"

Amid China's semiconductor push, Samsung also works hard

Korean chip industry executives tour semiconductor exhibition

Samsung and SK hynix executives visit each other's booths

China's largest memory chipmaker, ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), has said it will launch server DRAM featuring the next-generation "4F2" (four-F-square) structure by the end of this year. Song Jaehyeok, chief technology officer (CTO) of Samsung Electronics' Device Solutions (DS) Division, said Samsung Electronics is also developing 4F2 technology.

On the 14th, during a VIP booth tour at the 28th Semiconductor Exhibition (SEDEX 2026), the country's largest semiconductor exhibition, held at COEX in Samseong-dong, Seoul, Song was asked by reporters, "Is Samsung Electronics also developing 4F2 technology?" He replied, "Yes." Asked about the progress of development, he said, "We're working hard on it."

4F2 is a next-generation technology that increases density by reducing the area of DRAM cells, the units in which data is stored. Samsung Electronics has been developing the technology with mass production targeted for 2028, but CXMT recently announced it would unveil the technology two years earlier. The news sent the share prices of Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and Micron sharply lower.

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix are said to have researched 4F2 DRAM early on but not moved it into mass production, citing factors including production losses.

Song Jaehyuk, chief technology officer (CTO) of Samsung Electronics' Device Solutions (DS) Division, and Ahn Hyun, president and head of development at SK hynix, listen to an exhibition briefing during a VIP booth tour at the 28th Semiconductor Exhibition (SEDEX 2026), the country's largest semiconductor exhibition, held at COEX in Samseong-dong, Seoul, on the 14th. Photo by Park Juni.

With the Semiconductor Exhibition opening that day, semiconductor industry executives, including Song, chairman of the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association, and Ahn Hyun, president and head of development at SK hynix, visited booths operated by domestic memory, materials, components and equipment companies. Lee Jun-seok, a Reform Party lawmaker representing Hwaseong in Gyeonggi Province, where a semiconductor hub is located, also took part in the booth tour organized by the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association.

That day, the executives visited booths in turn, including those of Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, as well as materials, components and equipment companies and related firms such as Dongjin Semichem, Shinsung E&G, Chips&Media, ASICLAND, SEMES, MiCo Group and Komico.

They listened to explanations of the companies' flagship technologies and looked around the products on display. During the tour, Song and Ahn also visited booths belonging to their competitor, with Song stopping by SK hynix's booth and Ahn visiting Samsung Electronics' booth.

Song Jaehyeok, chief technology officer (CTO) of Samsung Electronics' Device Solutions (DS) Division, and Ahn Hyun, president and head of development at SK hynix, listen to an exhibition briefing during the VIP booth tour at the 28th Semiconductor Exhibition (SEDEX 2026), Korea's largest semiconductor trade show, at COEX in Samseong-dong, Seoul, on the 14th. Photo by Park Juni.

Samsung Electronics showcased semiconductor solutions for various AI applications, spanning memory, logic design, foundry and advanced packaging, under the theme "Architecting AI Systems." Its booth featured product lines including HBM4E, a high-performance memory for AI and the seventh generation of high-bandwidth memory, and LPDDR-PIM, which integrates computing capabilities into memory and combines low-power mobile DRAM with processing functions.

SK hynix, meanwhile, built its exhibition space around a single track under the theme "RUN: An AI Journey That Never Stops" and introduced its HBM4E and HBF (high-bandwidth flash) technologies. The exhibition also featured its main products, including DRAM and NAND for servers, PCs and mobile devices, as well as SSDs (solid-state drives).

Song Jaehyuk, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Samsung Electronics' Device Solutions (DS) Division, Ahn Hyun, President and Head of Development at SK hynix, and other semiconductor industry executives pose for a commemorative photo before the VIP booth tour at the 28th Semiconductor Exhibition (SEDEX 2026), the country's largest semiconductor trade show, at COEX in Samseong-dong, Seoul, on the 14th. Photo by Park Juni.

The Semiconductor Exhibition, themed "Into the Era of Silicon Intelligence," runs through the 16th. A record 300 companies, including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, are taking part across 888 booths.

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