[40 Years of the Tokyo Declaration]② Samsung Semiconductor Faces 'Quantum Jump' Challenge Ahead

Next 40 Years, Driving Technological Leap Forward

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Pyeonghwa] Samsung Electronics' 40-year history in semiconductors has been a history of technological super-gap. As a result, it has become the world leader in the memory semiconductor field. However, in the system semiconductor market, it is still a follower chasing the number one spot. The next 40 years will bring new technological challenges. A 'quantum jump,' meaning a leap to another dimension, is necessary.

Samsung Electronics rapidly expanded its semiconductor business after the Tokyo Declaration. After achieving $100 million in semiconductor exports in 1985, it developed the 1M DRAM the following year, laying the foundation for technological independence. In 1992, it developed the world's first 64M DRAM. This marked the beginning of Samsung's memory leadership history. In fact, Samsung Electronics ranked first in the global DRAM market by shipment volume for the first time that year. The government recognized the historical value of the 64M DRAM and designated it as a National Important Science and Technology Data in 2020.

Samsung Electronics 64M D-RAM developed in 1992 / [Photo source=Samsung Semiconductor website]

In 1993, Samsung Electronics became the world's number one in the memory semiconductor market. It continued to develop DRAMs with the label 'world's first.' In the 2000s, it increased its influence in the NAND flash market. In 2013, it introduced the 24-layer V-NAND, a method of stacking cells vertically (V). Moving away from the method of cramming circuits into narrow land, it designed semiconductors as if stacking a tower. This was the starting signal for the stacking competition in the NAND industry. Currently, Samsung holds an unshakable number one position in both the DRAM and NAND markets. Especially in the DRAM market, its market share is around 40%.

However, Samsung's number one myth is limited to the memory market. In the system semiconductor market, which has grown larger than memory, it remains second and a pursuer. In the image sensor market, it chases Japan's Sony, and in the foundry (semiconductor contract manufacturing) market, it chases Taiwan's TSMC. Especially in the high-growth foundry market, it has not been able to narrow the market share gap. This is due to a lack of competitiveness in production capacity (capability), yield (the ratio of good products among finished products), and intellectual property (IP).

The upcoming technological changes are also challenging. The industry has so far improved semiconductor performance by reducing circuit linewidths to increase integration density. Samsung Electronics has showcased its technological prowess by reducing semiconductor circuit linewidths down to 3 nanometers (nm; 1 nm is one-billionth of a meter). Entering the 1-nanometer scale, it may become difficult to further increase integration density. The linewidth would need to be reduced to the angstrom level (1 angstrom is one-tenth of a nanometer), which presents challenges that cannot be solved by electronic engineering. New quantum calculations at the atomic level are required. This essentially means the feasibility is low.

Professor Kim Jeongho of KAIST's Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering said, "The competition to reduce linewidths will continue for about the next 10 years at the current pace," and predicted, "The technological level may stop around 1 nanometer." He added, "In 30 to 40 years, as artificial intelligence (AI) develops and electricity consumption and data volume increase, there will be limits to computing based on existing semiconductors," and "New technology must emerge."

Samsung Electronics is focusing on research and development (R&D) that will become the engine of semiconductor super-gap. Through the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT), which looks at next-generation materials and equipment to be used at least five years later, and the Semiconductor Research Lab, which examines technologies applicable at earlier stages, it is exploring future technologies. By 2028, it will invest 20 trillion won to unveil the 'Giheung R&D Complex' at the Giheung campus. The Giheung R&D Complex is expected to become a core research base for next-generation semiconductors.