China's Innosilicon LPDDR6/5X memory controller IP delivered to first customers, up to 14.4Gbps

Chinese chip maker Innosilicon has announced it has provided its domestic customers with its new LPDDR6/5X memory controller IP.

2

Innosilicon's new LPDDR6/5X PHY + IP Controller combo has been designed using an advanced FinFET process technology, allowing for low-power operation, high bandwidth, and low latency in a multi-packaged controller with multiple other core advantages.

The company says that its expertise with other DRAM technologies including GDDR6, GDDR6X, GDDR7, HBM3E, and even HBM4, allowed Innosilicon to develop a robust LPDDR6/5X solution for the mass market.

In order to hit the high-speed capabilities of its new LPDDR6/5X combo IP controller, Innosilicon used a custom IO architecture design along with process optimizations for SIPI simulation. These tricks provided a 1.5x increase over their previous LPDDR5X solution, which capped out at 9.6Gbps, compared to 14.4Gbps with its new LPDDR6/5X memory controller.

LPDDR6 also shifts over from a 16-bit architecture to a 24-bit architecture, moving the IO rate from 9.6Gbps to 14.4Gbps, as well as expanding the IO bit size from 8-bit to 12-bit, providing a single-channel 24-bit architecture with a 2x bandwidth increase.

LPDDR6-Specific Features:

• I/O speed up to 14.4Gbps
• ECS (auto/manual) and Link ECC support
• System Meta Function Mode
• Dual/Per/All Bank Refresh (single/burst)
• Read-Modify-Write with Mask Write support
• Dynamic write NT-ODT
• DVFSL mode
• x24/x48 burst modes
• Normal and dynamic/static efficiency modes

LPDDR6/5X Common Features:

• Flexible data width expansion: x12 to x48 (LPDDR6), x16 to x32 (LPDDR5X)
• Built-in performance monitor
• Tx pre-emphasis and Rx DFE to improve signal integrity
• LPDDR5X WCK mode and Link ECC support
• PoP and discrete memory package support
• Single Rank and Multi-Rank configurations
• PVT compensation and timing calibration for all corner reliability
• At-speed BIST, Scan Insertion, PAD and Internal Loopback support
• Multiple low-power modes, including Idle auto-gating, SDRAM self-refresh/power-down, and power-down retention
• Low jitter with superior noise rejection
• Configurable via APB/AHB/AXI register interfaces

Innosilicon says that its new LPDDR6/5X memory controller IP is on track for mass production, and that we should expect to see the first products using its new memory controller later this year from several partners.