Samsung president says there is no technical difficulty in minimizing semiconductor technology down to 5nm

Samsung has definitely been on a streak lately. And this does not refer only to the ever-growing mobile market or the TV segment with the new UHD niche. The Korean tech giant is hitting big in terms of technology innovations. Recent developments in 14nm production methods as well as improving market positions and stable supply contracts have turned the Koreans in a key industry manufacturer.

Amidst all of this success Samsung Electronics president Kinam Kim sounded naturally excited about the company’s future at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC). In his speech he went into detail about the relatively new concept of Internet of Things (IoT). According to Cisco Systems estimates there are currently about 14.4 billion devices connected to the internet, which is quite a lot considering that there are half as much people worldwide. He believes that by 2020 this number will grow to the whopping 50 billion.

This all creates a huge need for efficient, low-profile cost and energy efficient technology. Samsung seems to be on the right track with constant innovations is smaller and smaller silicon. One such example is the ingenious ePoP module, which combines RAM and storage in a single, room-saving chip.

Currently the Korean manufacturer is already a neck ahead of the competition with its 14nm manufacturing technology and has already tested a 10nm FinFET process, well ahead of Intel. According to Kim this is still far from what can be achieved with current technology. In his statement he declares that “until 5nm there are no actual technical difficulties”. In fact he explains that FinFET can be shrunk to 7nm relatively easily.

From the looks of things Samsung is definitely at the forefront of innovation and given the proper market conditions could be the source new laves of groundbreaking computing technology for the foreseeable future.

Source (in Japanese)