Samsung Electronics has announced that it is adding three TCO-optimized, high-performance SSDs, based on 3-dimensional (3D) Vertical NAND (V-NAND) technology, to its portfolio of advanced enterprise and data center SSDs. The drives are available now. Designed for OEMs, the new SSDs, the PM1633, PM1725 and PM953, all utilize Samsung's 3-bit MLC (multi-level-cell) V-NAND flash memory.

Samsung Electronics is mass producing ePoP (embedded package on package) memory, a single memory package consisting of 3GB LPDDR3 DRAM, 32GB eMMC and a controller. For use in high-end smartphones, the thin ePoP can be stacked directly on top of the mobile processor. The 3GB LPDDR3 mobile DRAM inside the ePoP operates at an I/O data transfer rate of 1,866Mb/s, and sports a 64-bit I/O bandwidth. Because of its thinness and heat-resistant properties, Samsung's smartphone ePoP does not need any space beyond the 225mm2 (15 by 15mm) taken up by the mobile application processor. A conventional PoP (also 15 by 15mm), consisting of the mobile processor and DRAM, along with a separate eMMC (11.5mm by 13mm) package, takes up 374.5mm2. The single-package configuration also meets the semiconductor package height ceiling of 1.4mm, Samsung said.

Applied Materials has announced a suite of new defect review and classification technologies for its SEMVision family of products to accelerate time to yield for leading-edge chip manufacturing at 1Xnm and beyond. The Applied SEMVision G6 defect analysis system combines high-resolution, multi-dimensional imaging capabilities with machine learning intelligence of the Purity automatic defect classification (ADC) system. The SEMVision G6 system's resolution is a 30% improvement over the previous generation, making it the highest available in the industry, the company claimed. The system's detection assembly and processing make possible high-quality topographical images of tiny and shallow defects. High dynamic range detection, collection of back-scattered electrons, and energy filtering enable high aspect ratio imaging.