Figure 1. Top 10 OTT Streaming Programs – Week of 10/04/21 – 10/10/21

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It’s also a prime example of why the competitiveness of OTT (over-the-top) streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, Disney+ and others has become so fierce. Sometimes, it only takes one overnight sensation show, something like Squid Game, to drive greater awareness and new subscriptions.

But unlike traditional television, which broadcasts shows at set times through an over-the-air transmissions, or even cable television programming, which also follows a structured scheduled and broadcasts through a set-top box, streaming services offer the flexibility for viewers to watch what they want to watch, when they want to watch and on the device of their choosing.

Figure 2. Netflix Paid Net Subscriber Additions – Q3 2021

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Despite massive gains for Netflix in the early part of the pandemic in 2020, the company’s subscriber growth had largely curtailed – until the third quarter of 2021, the same time period for Squid Game’s debut. In that quarter, the company saw 4.4 million new subscribers – double what it reported for Q3 in 2020. In part, the credit goes to the show itself, which has been viewed by at least two-thirds of Netflix subscribers.

Streaming Popularity Creates Data Explosion, Expands Tech Innovation

And now that the expansions of broadband infrastructure, public wi-fi and unlimited wireless data plans are driving even more people online, the growth of the market has exploded. And that’s created opportunities for technology companies to innovate for the growing demand.

Consider that streaming programming, unlike traditional broadcasts, can be viewed with smartphones, tablets, PCs, smart TVs, and other connected devices. The greater availability means that the demand for OTT increases, as does the amount of data passing through a network. More data creates more demand on data center storage and that’s leading to greater innovation in semiconductor memory technologies and the evolution of the industry.

Figure 3. Worldwide Cloud Infrastructure Service Spend Q1 2018 – Q3 2021

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The high quality video that audiences are demanding from streaming content providers creates greater amounts of data and requires technology that can deliver improved resolutions at a higher rate. In the end, it all comes to down to power and the performance of the semiconductors that are literally doing much of the technology heavy lifting behind-the-scenes.

Figure 4. SK hynix HBM3 DRAM Memory

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In recent months, the innovation in semiconductor performance is adapting to new trends in video. In October, SK hynix announced that it has become the first in the industry to successfully develop the High Bandwidth Memory 3, the world’s best-performing DRAM. HBM3 is expected to be mainly adopted by high-performance data centers, and such a state-of-the-art memory solution will no doubt contribute to provide users with crystal clear video content with little latency.

Prior to that, SK hynix completed development of the industry’s most multilayered 176-layer 512 Gigabit (Gb) Triple-Level Cell (TLC) 4D NAND flash, a third-generation 4D product that secures the best number of chips per wafer. The result is an improvement in bit productivity, read speed and data transfer speed, and with such improvement the latest 176-layer 4D NAND Flash can be applied to both high performance enterprise SSDs for data centers and mobile storage solutions. Specifically, mobile solution products are expected to improve maximum read speed by 70 percent and maximum write speed by 35 percent.

Figure 5. SK hynix 18GB LPDDR5 Mobile DRAM

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To stream such high-quality video with no latency on various mobile devices, it is also essential to support your devices with cutting edge mobile memory solutions. In March, SK hynix announced mass production of 18GB (gigabyte) LPDDR5 mobile DRAM, which offers the industry’s largest capacity, for premium smartphones, allowing support for high-quality video. That application will continue expanding to include the latest technologies, including ultra-high-performance camera applications and artificial intelligence (AI).

These are important developments because, increasingly, these powerful mobile devices with high-performance image and video capture capabilities are being marketed as commercial-like video equipment. Most recently, Apple’s iPhone 13 Pro is being advertised as “Hollywood in your Pocket” because of its ground-breaking video capabilities.

Figure 6. Mobile Phone Semiconductor Revenue – Q3 2021

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Looking ahead, the demand for semiconductor innovation is ahead of the demand for devices where they’re found. Mobile phone shipments, for example, were down in 2020 but mobile phone semiconductor revenue grew nearly 10 percent due to a shift to higher-priced 5G devices which require high-end quality semiconductors. Demand remains strong as IDC forecasts 12.5 percent growth in 2021.

As we demonstrated, the chain of data for OTT streaming services travels from massive hyper-scale data centers all the way to your tiny mobile devices. The OTT streaming services might be among many other applications and services which drive growth momentum in such data ecosystem – but the demand that they’re creating with unique content such as the Squid Game is creating opportunities for companies like SK hynix, which will continue to innovate technologies that can offer greater performance, capabilities, and experiences across many different aspects of our daily lives.

The post How Streaming Shows Like Squid Game Drive Semiconductor Innovation first appeared on SK hynix Newsroom.

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21st-century auto technology is undergoing a massive digital transformation that has been labelled the CASE revolution due to cars becoming more Connected, Autonomous, Shared, and Electric. Vehicles now come with complex and efficient interconnectivity as well as integrated systems, such as infotainment, long-life batteries, and ultra-fast 5G networks. By leveraging a myriad of leading-edge technologies, car manufacturers are pushing the boundaries of mobility with never-before-seen functionality.

Vehicle automation in particular has been a focal point for automakers with self-driving cars now capable of performing most driving tasks, providing drivers with unprecedented convenience. Level 3 automated vehicles that can steer, accelerate, and brake on their own under certain conditions are presently being rolled out. This is a significant leap beyond levels 1 and 2 vehicles which offer driver assistance and Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS) but still require steering and constant monitoring. Level 4 vehicles that can perform all driving tasks under certain conditions are currently in the developmental phase but are projected to find broader implementation by 2024 according to IDC.

Self-driving cars are fully loaded with electronic systems supporting an infrastructure, essentially making them mobile data centers that require an immense amount of computing power. The challenge automakers now face is creating data-storage subsystems that can handle advanced applications and meet automotive constraints. Semiconductors that have long powered the smartphone industry are currently being adapted into auto-grade memory and integrated into autonomous vehicles. With their increasing storage capacity and speeds, these tiny but powerful chips are now crucial for self-driving vehicles, creating a massive demand for NAND and DRAM in the global automotive market.

What makes self-driving possible?

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Self-driving cars use sensors such as LiDAR, RADAR, Ultrasonic, and high-resolution video cameras to detect objects and signs, including vehicles, traffic lights, lane markings, pedestrians, and road edges, thereby creating a map of its environment. Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology enables the vehicle to communicate with everything nearby, including other vehicles, infrastructure, networks and pedestrians to further help construct this virtual map. Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the form of electronic control units (ECUs) then process and interpret all the sensory input and data before sending instructions to actuators that steer, brake, and accelerate as required. Sensors, V2X and AI technology all interact seamlessly together making self-driving vehicles a reality.

DRAM and NAND leading the smart car revolution

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The advanced technology embedded in self-driving cars require enhanced memory solutions due to the mission-critical nature of the applications and the immense amount of required storage. As people’s lives are on the line, there is no margin for error. This means auto-grade memory must be more reliable, faster, and robust than memory used in smartphones or laptops. Additionally, with self-driving cars projected to consume 5-20 TB per day per car, memory capacity must be increased to meet automotive needs.

To meet automotive-grade memory requirements LPDDR5 originally designed for mobile is being enhanced for self-driving vehicles, due to its many advantages including high density, performance, and endurance. LPDDR5 is being adapted for much larger dashboard displays to manage increasingly sophisticated navigational images and the control area of cockpit units. The digital cluster, front and rear sensors, and driver-monitoring system utilizing in-cabin cameras also require auto-grade LPDDR5.

High-capacity NAND flash memory, another key smartphone component, is playing an integral role in automotive applications and systems owing to its robust structure and multi-terabyte storage capabilities. Auto-grade NAND enables data capture and permanent storage of accidents in real-time as well as self-driving functions such as vehicle proximity alert, auto-headlights, speed regulation, emergency braking, lane integrity, and blind spot monitoring.

Meeting smart car industry standards

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According to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), of all serious motor vehicles crashes, 94% were due to human error. Self-driving vehicles not only offer more convenience but the ability to reduce crashes, prevent injuries and save lives. To ensure driver safety, automotive-grade memory must meet stringent quality standards that ensure memory chips are error free and can be relied upon even in extreme temperatures and dynamic conditions.

A key standard established by the Automotive Electronics Council (AEC) is AEC-Q100, a failure mechanism based stressed test qualification that guarantees a certain level of reliability and longevity for integrated circuits (IC). Stress testing of memory components concerns not only in-vehicle usage but the design and manufacturing process to ensure the highest quality product. To meet AEC-Q100 requirements, chip integrity is measured through a battery of stress tests involving temperature, vibration, and conditions such as dust and condensation. Only after passing all tests is a component certified auto-grade.

SK hynix has dedicated itself to achieving AEC-Q100 qualification by building up its process from the R&D stage to manufacturing using automotive industry standards. One such standard is IATF-16949, the Quality Management Systems standard for the automotive industry, which emphasizes defect prevention and reduction of variation and waste. Another industry standard SK hynix follows is ISO-26262, a mandate to develop a functional safety process to reduce the possibility of electrical malfunction. Additionally, Automotive Software Performance Improvement and Capability Determination (ASPICE) is an established framework used by SK hynix for measuring process quality.

Keeping pace with automotive memory needs

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With the advancement of self-driving cars, data storage has become a critical component of automotive design. This has placed a precedence on high data retention, speed and continual data integrity for the systems that make autonomous cars possible. As a developer of advanced, high-quality memory products, SK hynix stands at the forefront of this movement and is enhancing DRAM and NAND for the automotive market. In doing so SK hynix has positioned itself as a leader in the new e-mobility era and is committed to the ultimate goal of delivering safety and convenience to all drivers.

The post Let’s Hit the Road: Automated Vehicles are Pulling into the Fast Lane first appeared on SK hynix Newsroom.

SK hynix’s 18GB LPDDR5 memory: enormous power in a tiny package

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Smartphones weren’t just revolutions; they were also revelations.

The ability to carry a fully loaded multimedia device in a pocket transformed the way billions of people communicate, work, and play. And, since the first commercially viable smartphones hit the market, device and component manufacturers have been beefing up their capabilities so that the latest flagships now rival high-end desktop PCs in terms of raw power.

Much of the latest advancements in smartphone processing capabilities come from LPDDR5, the fifth generation of low-power double data rate memory (also known as mobile DRAM). First introduced in 2019, LPDDR5 represents a significant leap forward from previous generations of memory.

Blistering performance in a compact package

Testing by JEDEC, which develops standards for the microelectronics industry, has shown that LPDDR5 doubles the memory throughput of LPDDR4, showing a data rate of 6,400 megabits per second (Mbps) versus 3,200 Mbps for LPDDR4.

Fig. 1: LPDDR5 represents a steep climb up from previous versions of mobile DRAM

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This was made possible by a significant redesign of mobile DRAM architecture, as the capabilities of LPDDR4 and its iterations were maxed out. LPDDR5 introduces new command-based power systems that reduce how many contact pins are needed for data transfer while also improving power consumption.

Even compared to LPDDR4x, which reduced power consumption by lowering the input/output (I/O) voltage (VDDQ) of LPDDR4 memory from 1.1V to 0.6V, LPDDR5 provides significant advancements, demonstrating a 50% improvement in data transfer speeds and a 30% drop in power consumption.

These are significant achievements in the world of smartphone components, which must fit into palm-sized form factors and must rely on batteries with limited power supplies. In fact, LPDDR5 memory will enable a new wave of development in system-on-chip development that will enable both smartphones and laptops to deliver top end processing speeds and performance while integrating all computing functions into a single integrated circuit.

Smartphone manufacturers around the world are eager to roll out LPDDR5 devices. In fact, LPDDR5 already represents 10% of the mobile DRAM market, with Omdia, a market research institute, estimating that it will grab more than 50% of the market by 2023.

Expanding the limit of computing power

SK hynix is already pushing the envelope when it comes to LPDDR5 memory. In March of 2021, the company announced that it became the first to mass-produce 18GB LPDDR5 modules.

Capable of supporting data transfer rates of up to 6,400 megabits per second, the highest speed bin supported by current LPDDR5 specifications, SK hynix’s modules show 18GB capacity, the largest capacity in the industry. In more concrete terms, this means smartphones equipped with SK hynix’s 18GB LPDDR5 memory can transfer up to ten 5GB full-high-definition movies per second.

Fig. 2: LPDDR5-equipped smartphones have an array of
features that provide a better mobile experience

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For average consumers, this will provide a bevy of immediately discernible improvements. These include improved connectivity to data-intensive 5G networks, faster download speeds, smoother cloud computing experiences, better camera performance, extended battery life, and even better high-resolution displays.

Gamers will be the first to get a taste of 18GB LPDDR5’s capabilities when the ASUS ROG Phone 5 Ultimate rolls out later in 2021. Powered by SK hynix’s lightning-fast memory module, the phone will allow users to max out the settings on graphically intense 3D games. And, perhaps more importantly, mobile gamers will finally earn bragging rights over PC gamers still limited to 8GB and 16GB memory slots.

Undiscovered potential

LPDDR5 represents the new frontier in smartphones and computing. Still in its infancy, the technology offers significant untapped potential as manufacturers like SK hynix start exploring how they can maximize the computational potential of an LPDDR5 module.

In the future, developers hope that LPDDR5 will offer enough power to enable smartphones to feature on-device artificial intelligence and machine learning. Both are incredibly data-hungry applications that currently require the capabilities of cloud computing to execute. Moving them directly onto a smartphone will enable the devices to learn about their users much faster and provide experiences better tailored to users’ preferences.

With all of these developments, SK hynix continues advancing its own capabilities and looking at what’s next for LPDDR5 memory while also working to manufacture even more powerful modules.

The post Foot on the Gas: LPDDR5 memory shifts smartphones into high gear first appeared on SK hynix Newsroom.