Micron Rejects CXMT-Style 4F² DRAM, Sticks With 6F² and 3D DRAM
Micron's CTO says 4F² DRAM has fundamental scaling problems and no real density gain over 6F², as the company points to a new DRAM node in 2H 2027 and 3D DRAM.
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Micron's stated DRAM position, per Nikkei Asia and Yahoo Finance.
Illustration (AI-generated)
Micron Technology will not follow China's CXMT to 4F² DRAM cells, its chief technology officer said, and will keep building on today's 6F² layout while preparing 3D DRAM, according to Nikkei Asia. Scott DeBoer, Micron's president and chief technology and products officer, made the remarks on an analyst call on October 21, per a Yahoo Finance report of the session.
Micron is betting on node scaling, wafer bonding and 3D DRAM rather than 4F² cells.
Illustration (AI-generated)
DeBoer called the claimed density advantage of 4F² over 6F² "a bit of a myth," saying density depends mainly on capacitor spacing rather than cell layout. He said Micron can build 4F² on older nodes but at higher cost and complexity, and that at the leading edge "there's fundamental problems with 4F squared scaling." Micron invented the design and studied it for two decades, he said, before choosing not to pursue it commercially.
The comments follow CXMT's announcement that it will launch a server DDR5 RDIMM using a 4F² architecture by the end of 2026, which hit memory-maker shares earlier this month. Whether CXMT can reach volume yields with the design remains unproven; analysts quoted in earlier coverage have questioned near-term mass production.
