Infineon Technologies Introduces Fastest DDR Memory for 3D Graphics Market

Apr 11, 2001 | Market News

Munich/Germany, April 11, 2001 – Infineon Technologies (FSE/NYSE:IFX) today introduced a new 128-Mbit Double Data Rate (DDR) Synchronous Graphics RAM (SGRAM), for use in high-performance 3D graphics acceleration application. The new product enhances Infineon’s family of graphics memory for the growing 3D accelerator market, and follows the pioneering 32-Mbit DDR SGRAM, which contributed to the image quality improvements in 3D graphics.

The 128Mbit SGRAM is organized 4Mx32, and hence is an ideal graphics memory for 32, 64, 128 and 256 bit bus applications. Featuring a JEDEC standard Ball-Grid-Array (BGA) package supporting clock frequencies up to 300MHz, this memory breaks bandwidth barriers imposed by TSOP and TQFP packaging. At this operating speed the new device is capable of handling data bandwidths up to 2.4 Gigabytes per second, which makes it the fastest DDR memory available today.

Infineon is pioneering new features with this product, introducing a 1.8V matched impedance interface. Operating at 1.8V means significant power savings over a standard DDR interface which uses 2.5V – this will be critical to reach the high performance levels required of 3D graphics cards and power reduction for Notebook PCs. Additionally the BGA package ball-out of 12x12 incorporates 16 thermal balls for cooling.

“The 1.8V matched impedance interface and BGA package has excellent thermal performance, removing the need for memory cooling blocks on graphics boards”, said Ernst Strasser, Director of Product Marketing for Graphics and Specialty Memories at Infineon’s Memory Business Group. “The matched impedance interface and mirrored ball-out simplifies layout. This will lead to significant cost savings.”

Recently 3D graphics have developed at a blistering pace, and Infineon has played a pivotal role in these advances. The leading 3D graphics processors are now programmable and support advanced texturing techniques, which enable lifelike realization of complex visuals. Games developers will take full advantage of the new hardware features to produce games with amazing imagery. In order to accommodate these new software features, frame buffers will need to grow both in terms of bandwidth and size, enabling a swiftly increasing level of graphic detail.

The industry’s demand for more bandwidth and memory density, combined with the user community’s desire for affordable 3D graphics available on a wide range of platforms were strong drivers behind this new product. With the 128-Mbit DDR SGRAM Infineon has met its own target to further push out the previous restrictions inherent in current graphics memories, namely bandwidth and form factor.

On the PC front, novel small form factors for Desktop PCs require a reduction in the space taken up by graphics boards. The increasing prevalence of fully-featured multimedia boards with TV capabilities places further pressure on board space. The Notebook PC has traditionally lagged the Desktop PC in graphics capability, but increasingly it is seen as a desktop replacement and requires matching graphics capability. Infineon’s 128-Mbit DDR SGRAM answers the Notebook PC’s graphics requirements with high bandwidth, low power and small form factor. Compared to graphics memories mounted in the standard TSOP or TQFP packages, the form factor of the 128Mbit DDR SGRAM is reduced by more than a factor of two by using a BGA package. The footprint of the 128Mbit device is 11mm x 11mm.

“We tailored the 128-Mbit DDR SGRAM to meet the aggressive bandwidth demands of Desktop PC 3D graphics and the form factor demands of the Notebook PC without compromising performance”, said Noel Clarke, Product Marketing Manager for Graphics Memories at Infineon’s Memory Business Group.

The 128Mbit DDR SGRAM is also of great interest in other markets such as networking where the x32 organization and high frequency heralds a superb cost-performance optimization for switching and caching applications.

Availability and Pricing


Infineon has already provided samples of the new SGRAM to key accounts, and is planning for general sample availability in the second quarter of 2001. The product range of the 4Mx32 DDR SGRAM will feature operating clock frequencies up to 300MHz. Volume production is scheduled to start later this year. Sample pricing will be $33 in quantities of 1000 pieces.

For additional information about Infineon’s product portfolio of DRAMs and modules, please visit www.infineon.com/products/memory


About Infineon


Infineon Technologies AG, Munich, Germany, offers semiconductor and system solutions for applications in the wired and wireless communications markets, for security systems and smartcards, for the automotive and industrial sectors, as well as memory products. With a global presence, Infineon operates in the US from San Jose, CA, in the Asia-Pacific region from Singapore and in Japan from Tokyo. In the fiscal year 2000 (ending September), the company achieved sales of Euro 7.28 billion with about 29,000 employees worldwide. Infineon is listed on the DAX index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: IFX). Further information is available at www.infineon.com

Information Number

INFMP200104.070e

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    Infineon Technologies Introduces Fastest DDR Memory for 3D Graphics Market
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