CXMT's Fifth-Gen DRAM Enters Mass Production, Boosting Competition
Chinese dynamic random access memory chipmaker CXMT announced its fifth generation technology platform had entered mass production. This development, according to Reuters, positions the company as a stronger competitor in the global memory chip market against established suppliers such as Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and Micron Technology. The platform aims to produce more powerful memory chips at a lower cost with reduced power consumption.
DRAM serves as the short term working memory for various electronic devices, including phones and computers, facilitating the operation of applications and programmes. The new platform from the Hefei based memory chip producer allows for closer packing of the tiny structures that store data. This design enables more memory to be accommodated on each individual chip, increasing the number of chips that can be produced from a single silicon wafer. CXMT, which listed on Shanghai's STAR Market this year, indicated this would offer electronics makers an additional supply source for components used in smartphones and other portable devices.
The company reduced the spacing of key features in the data storage part of the chip to 11.95 nanometres, a measure equivalent to approximately 12 billionths of a metre. It achieved this refined precision through "quadruple patterning," a manufacturing process involving the repetition of several production steps to create finer circuit patterns. And CXMT's vice president and head of its marketing centre, Luo Xiaodong, stated at the 2026 World Manufacturing Convention in Hefei that their process capability now matches the most advanced mass produced nodes across the industry.
Two 24 gigabit LPDDR5X products were also unveiled by CXMT, both manufactured on the new platform. LPDDR5X is a power saving form of DRAM predominantly used in smartphones and other portable electronics. These new products each hold 50 per cent more data than CXMT's previous comparable offerings. The company confirmed these specific items are already in mass production and are available in two package formats, designed to suit various smartphone and portable device configurations.
CXMT further stated the new platform can yield at least 50 per cent more gross chip dies per wafer compared to its fourth generation platform. This calculation uses an 8 gigabit chip as its baseline. But this metric specifically accounts for the potential number of chips produced from a wafer before any defective units are identified and excluded, rather than indicating the proportion of chips that successfully pass final testing.
The development of this platform involved computer simulations and collaborative work with Chinese chip equipment makers on critical production steps. This technical advance coincides with Beijing's ongoing efforts to decrease its dependence on foreign semiconductor technology. US export controls, implemented since 2022, have placed restrictions on China's access to certain advanced chipmaking equipment and related software, influencing domestic development initiatives.
So this move by CXMT contributes to China's broader objective of establishing stronger domestic capabilities within the semiconductor sector.
CXMT has commenced mass production of its fifth generation DRAM technology platform.
The new platform is designed to enable more powerful, lower cost, and more power efficient memory chips.
Specific products, two 24 gigabit LPDDR5X chips, offer 50 per cent more data capacity than prior CXMT offerings.
Production efficiency is claimed to increase by at least 50 per cent more gross chip dies per wafer compared to the previous generation.
This development aligns with Beijing's aim to reduce reliance on foreign semiconductor technology amid existing export controls.
Source: Reuters
