首尔／香港／台北／美国桑尼维尔——中国长鑫存储（CXMT）于周末宣布在下一代存储芯片设计上取得突破，在市场和半导体行业引发震动，尽管分析师和行业高管表示，其竞争对手还有其他方式来保持竞争优势。
SEOUL/HONG KONG/TAIPEI/SUNNYVALE, U.S. -- A breakthrough in next-generation memory chip design, announced by China's CXMT at the weekend, has sent shockwaves through markets and the semiconductor industry, although analysts and industry executives say its rivals have other ways to maintain their competitive edge.
长鑫存储总裁曹侃瑜在一个行业会议上表示，该公司在一种名为4F平方（4F-squared）的下一代存储单元架构上取得了关键进展，与现有的6F平方结构相比，该架构能在相同尺寸的芯片上容纳更多存储单元。
ChangXin Memory Technologies' President Cao Kanyu told an industry conference that a key advance had been made in a next-generation memory cell architecture called 4F-squared, which would allow more cells on a same-sized chip than the existing 6F-squared structure.
长鑫存储在击败三星电子、SK海力士和美光这三大行业龙头之前实现了这一新的微型化和密度水平，这一消息导致这三家公司的股价在周一和周二急剧下跌，并冲击了全球其他科技公司的股价和市场。
The news that CXMT was achieving the next level of miniaturization and density ahead of the three leading players, Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix and Micron, sent their stocks sharply lower on Monday and Tuesday, as well as hitting shares of other tech companies and markets around the world.
这是中国企业在遭到美国贸易限制、无法获得最新西方设备和零部件的情况下，又一个宣称实现技术跨越的例子。今年5月，华为公布了被称为“涛氏标度律”（Tau Scaling Law）的半导体和系统设计原则，该原则利用超越传统缩小晶体管尺寸的技术来提升性能。
It was another example of a Chinese company claiming a technological leap despite being denied access to the latest Western equipment and components by U.S. trade restrictions. In May, Huawei unveiled semiconductor and system design principles, dubbed the Tau Scaling Law, that use techniques beyond the traditional shrinking of transistor sizes to improve performance.
长鑫存储于7月在上海科创板成功进行了轰动一时的首次公开募股（IPO），一度成为中国市值最高的公司。根据研究公司Counterpoint的数据，它是全球第四大DRAM芯片制造商，在第二季度末的市场份额已增长至10%。三星、SK海力士和美光的市场份额分别为38%、25%和24%。
CXMT staged a blockbuster IPO on Shanghai's Star market in July, briefly becoming China's most valuable company. It is the fourth-largest DRAM chipmaker globally, growing to a 10% market share at the end of the second quarter, according to research firm Counterpoint. Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron had 38%, 25%, and 24% shares, respectively.
一些分析师表示，长鑫存储的进展并未对其韩国竞争对手构成威胁，因为在提高存储芯片每片晶圆的生产力方面，除了改变结构之外，还有更多的方法。
Some analysts said CXMT's advance was not a threat to its South Korean rivals as there were still more ways to improve productivity per wafer in memory chips rather than changing the structure.
“韩国公司有一些容易使用的方法，一旦这些方法用尽，他们就必须开始解决更困难的问题。但由于CXMT，美国已经施加了限制，禁止销售设备，因此没有简单的解决方案，”香港的野村高级分析师郑崇文（音）说。
"Korean companies have some easy methods they can use, and once those are exhausted, they'll have to start tackling the more difficult ones. But with CXMT, the U.S. has imposed restrictions preventing the sale of equipment, so there are no easy solutions," said CW Chung, a senior analyst at Nomura based in Hong Kong.
“由于没有简单的解决方案，公司现在正在求助于临时措施，要么采用多重图案化，要么尽早尝试采用这种4F平方技术。”一位韩国半导体高管对《日经亚洲》表示，控制芯片产生的热量以及如何在高度集成的结构中散热，是内存芯片制造商在4F平方和3D DRAM等新架构中需要解决的最艰巨挑战之一。
"Since there's no easy solution, the company is now resorting to stopgap measures, either multi-patterning or trying to adopt this 4F-squared technology a bit sooner." A South Korean chip executive told Nikkei Asia that controlling how much heat a chip generates and how to dissipate it in a densely packed structure was one of the toughest challenges memory chipmakers need to solve for new architectures like 4F-squared and 3D DRAM.
“目前尚不清楚CXMT是否能够成功提升产能并在大规模生产中解决散热问题，”该高管表示。
"It is yet to be seen if CXMT can successfully ramp up production and solve the thermal issue in mass production," said the executive.
动态随机存取存储器芯片，即DRAM，是用于各种电子设备的关键组件，从计算机和智能手机到数据中心服务器和汽车。DRAM将数据存储在称为单元的单位中，而单个单元占据的面积表示为F平方。如今大多数内存芯片采用6F平方结构，该术语指的是每个单元在芯片上占据的空间大小。数字越小，单元排列越紧密，从而允许更大的内存存储容量。
Dynamic random access memory chips, or DRAM, are critical components used in all kinds of electronic devices, from computers and smartphones to data center servers and cars. DRAM stores data in units called cells, and the area occupied by a single cell is denoted as F-squared. Most memory chips today use a 6F-squared structure, the terminology referring to how much space each cell occupies on a chip. The smaller the number, the more tightly packed the cells, allowing more memory storage.
转向4F平方将是自2000年代中期以来的首次此类转变，当时行业从8F平方转向采用6F平方。
Moving to 4F-squared would be the first such transition since the mid-2000s when the industry shifted from 8F-squared to adopt 6F-squared.
SK海力士和三星都一直在研发4F平方芯片，前者去年透露计划为其更先进的芯片转向采用4F平方垂直栅极（VG）平台。三星尚未正式公布其策略，但一位熟悉情况的行业人士表示，该公司也在开发4F平方芯片。当地媒体报道称，三星正在研发一种结合垂直沟道晶体管（VCT）的4F平方结构。
Both SK Hynix and Samsung have been working on 4F-squared chips, with the former revealing last year plans to transition to a 4F-squared vertical gate (VG) platform for its more advanced chips. Samsung has not officially revealed its strategy, but an industry source familiar with the matter said that the company was also developing 4F-squared. Local media reported that it was working on a 4F-squared structure paired with vertical channel transistors (VCT).
应用材料公司（Applied Materials）集团副总裁兼企业战略负责人特里斯坦·霍尔姆（Tristan Holtam）对《日经亚洲》表示：“如果你考虑一下存储器技术的工作原理——即最终如何在每晶圆面积上获得更多比特或每个比特成本更低——加速这些下一代技术的发展也极具价值。”
"If you think about how memory technology works, where ultimately you can get more bits per wafer area or more bits per dollar, accelerating those next generations of technologies is also very valuable," Tristan Holtam, group vice president and head of corporate strategy at Applied Materials, told Nikkei Asia.
他是在这家美国芯片设备供应商周一于硅谷为其耗资50亿美元的EPIC研发中心揭幕时发表上述言论的。三星、SK海力士和美光将在此与该公司合作开发下一代半导体。
He was speaking at the U.S. chip equipment supplier's unveiling on Monday of the $5 billion EPIC Center for research and development in Silicon Valley, where Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron will work with it to develop next-generation semiconductors.
他表示：“如果我们能提前推进4F平方（4F-squared）技术，如果我们能提前推进3D DRAM，这也将满足很大一部分市场需求，”并补充说，EPIC中心将帮助芯片制造商将10至15年的芯片设计周期缩短一半。
"If we can pull forward 4F-squared, if we can pull forward 3D DRAM, that is also going to fulfill a lot of the market requirement," he said, adding that the EPIC Center would help chipmakers cut in half a 10-to-15-year chip design timeline.
长鑫存储的曹在行业会议上表示，长鑫存储4F平方设计的核心是一种名为垂直环绕栅极（VSG）的专利晶体管，它呈直立状，并将电栅极从各个方向包裹在沟道周围，从而赋予芯片对电流更大的控制力以防止漏电。
Cao at CXMT told the industry conference that the core of CXMT's 4F-squared design was a proprietary transistor called vertical surrounded gate (VSG), which stands upright and wraps the electrical gate around the channel on all sides, giving the chip far greater control over the electrical current to prevent leakage.
该公司还计划在今年底前基于该技术推出一款名为DDR5 RDIMM的新型高性能服务器级RAM模组。DDR5 RDIMM专为数据中心和AI服务器设计。
The company also plans to launch a new high-performance server-grade RAM module, called DDR5 RDIMM, based on the technology before the end of this year. DDR5 RDIMM is designed for data centers and AI servers.
长鑫存储还在9月表示，其已实现第五代DRAM技术平台的量产，这使其“接近全球存储器生产的前沿”。该公司还推出了基于同一平台打造的全新大容量LPDDR5X芯片，该芯片主要面向移动设备和笔记本电脑设计。
In September, CXMT also said it had achieved mass production of its fifth-generation DRAM technology platform, putting it "close to the leading edge of global memory production." The company also unveiled a new high-capacity LPDDR5X chip, designed primarily for mobile devices and laptops, built on the same platform.
LPDDR5目前广泛应用于高端智能手机，而DDR5则常见于台式机、笔记本电脑和服务器。与此同时，包括英伟达（Nvidia）、超威半导体（AMD）和高通（Qualcomm）在内的服务器制造商和AI芯片开发商正越来越广泛地采用LPDDR5存储器，以支持其中央处理器（CPU）并提升计算性能和能效。
LPDDR5 is now widely used in high-end smartphones, while DDR5 is commonly found in desktops, laptops and servers. Meanwhile, server makers and AI chip developers, including Nvidia, AMD and Qualcomm, are increasingly adopting LPDDR5 memory to support their central processing units (CPUs) and improve computing performance and power efficiency.
内存芯片价格飙升，受人工智能需求推动，导致各级供应出现短缺。台湾较小的竞争对手长鑫存储（CXMT）的专注于DRAM的台湾公司南亚科技总裁李佩英表示，供应缺口仍然巨大，且其公司预计当前季度的创纪录毛利率超过85%将进一步增长。
Memory chip prices have rocketed, driven by AI demand that has created shortages at every level. President Lee Pei-Ing of Nanya Technology, a smaller Taiwanese rival to CXMT specializing in DRAM, said the supply gap was still massive and that his company expected its record gross margin of more than 85% to grow further in the current quarter.
“我们确实看到人工智能相关应用的需求特别强劲，同时我们也看到显著的溢出效应，使得其他电子设备的内存供应非常紧张，我们也看到那里存在限制，”李佩英说。
"We do see the demand for AI-related applications in particular is strong, while we also see significant spill-over effects that make memory for other electronic devices very tight, and we see constraints there as well," Lee said.
《日经亚洲》独家报道称，惠普、华硕和宏碁已开始使用部分长鑫存储的内存，以减轻供应限制，而长鑫存储正在启动其历史上最激进的扩张计划。
Nikkei Asia has exclusively reported that HP, Asus, and Acer have started using some CXMT memory to minimize supply constraints and that CXMT is launching the most aggressive expansion plans in the company's history.