DRAM Saviour? Winbond launches new DRAM tech to combat shortages

Winbond is scaling up with new tech to combat the world’s DRAM shortages

Winbond, a minor DRAM manufacturer, is trying to tackle the world’s DRAM shortage head-on. Using its in-house 16nm technology, the company has just launched new 8Gb DDR4 memory modules, promising increased wafer productivity and supply.

Winbond has already committed to doubling its bit supply to address the global DRAM shortage. In other words, Winbond plans to double the number of Gigabytes of RAM it produces. With its new 16nm technology, the company aims to produce more DRAM chips per wafer while improving power efficiency. The company also aims to increase its wafer production.

While Winbond is not producing newer DDR5 memory, it is serving a market that larger DRAM producers have abandoned. Samsung and SK Hynix have moved production to DDR5, leaving DDR4 customers with a lowered supply. DDR4 is still used for TVs, servers, networking devices, industrial PCs, and other devices. Transitioning these devices to DDR5 is expensive, and Winbond has stepped in to increase DDR4 supply and serve these customers.

Leveraging its advanced 16nm manufacturing platform, Winbond achieves a significant performance leap in its new DDR4 generation. Compared to previous generations, the 16nm node offers a smaller die size, higher wafer productivity, and improved power efficiency, allowing customers to integrate higher-density DRAM without increasing the package footprint. The refined process also enhances signal integrity and reduces leakage, supporting stable operation even at data rates up to 3600Mbps. This combination of higher speed, lower cost, and robust manufacturing maturity makes Winbond’s 16nm DDR4 a compelling choice for long-lifecycle industrial and embedded applications.

– Winbond

DDR4 memory is still vital for many customers, Winbond has more 16nm memory coming

Winbond’s 16nm process will soon be  used to create new CUBE, 8Gb LPDDR4, and 16Gb DDR5 memory modules. With its new 16nm 8Gb DDR4 modules, speeds of 3600 Mbps have been achieved. Those are solid speeds for DDR4 memory modules.

DDR4 remains a vital technology for many markets, and our new 8Gb DDR4 solution ensures customers can continue to benefit from its strong ecosystem with even greater performance and efficiency.

By combining our 16nm expertise with high-speed capabilities, we are enabling customers to meet demanding computing requirements while lowering total system cost.

Winbond’s 16nm process node marks a new benchmark in DDR4 manufacturing maturity, combining speed, scalability, and efficiency for long-lifecycle applications. Building on this platform, three additional products are already under development in the same 16nm process — CUBE, 8Gb LPDDR4, and 16Gb DDR4 — further expanding Winbond’s next-generation memory portfolio.

– Winbond

In a world where SK Hynix and Samsung openly state that they want to prolong the world’s memory shortage, smaller producers like Winbond are stepping up. While it isn’t cutting-edge memory, Winbond’s increased production will help combat the shortage. It will also help limit the impact of memory shortages on devices that use older DRAM products. This will help alleviate the global DRAM shortage, though only slightly.

You can join the discussion on Winbond’s DDR4 memory expansion on the OC3D Forums.