Chinese chipmaker CXMT's 5th-generation memory-chip platform enters mass production, marking new breakthrough in process scaling

Chinese memory chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) announced on Sunday that its fifth-generation DRAM technology platform, known as the G5 platform, has entered mass production, marking a new breakthrough in process scaling, the Global Times learned from the company.

The announcement was made at the 2026 World Manufacturing Convention in Hefei, East China's Anhui Province. At the convention, CXMT showcased two LPDDR5X products based on its G5 platform, both featuring a capacity of 24Gb, 50 percent higher than comparable products of the previous generation.

The two products use 496-ball and 245-ball packaging, respectively, and are designed for applications including mid- to high-end smartphones and portable consumer electronics. Both have entered mass production, the company told the Global Times in a statement.

Leveraging an innovative quadruple patterning (SAQP) technology, G5 Platform features an active area half-pitch of 11.95 nm for memory arrays, closing the gap with the world's most advanced volume-production memory platforms, the company said.

The G5 platform has an array capacitor aspect ratio of 45:1, supported by process-flow redesign and new material integration. It also uses a DRAM-optimized high-k metal gate (HKMG) process, reducing the core cell array height to 6,762 nanometers.

During development, CXMT built a digital-twin system on top of its existing process modules, covering the full product lifecycle from design and development to manufacturing and maintenance. The virtual development platform incorporates advanced DRAM process models to help shorten R&D cycles.

At the convention on Sunday, the company also reported progress in key process technologies including interface engineering, saddle-fin structures and low-k spacer bitlines.

CXMT said the G5 process has significantly increased memory density, with the number of dies produced per wafer rising by at least 50 percent compared with its fourth-generation platform, while also improving energy efficiency and cost control.

CXMT, a leading Chinese memory chipmaker based in Hefei, said it will continue to advance its technology in line with global market demand and develop higher-performance, more reliable memory products.

The launch comes as global demand for memory chips continues to rise, driven in part by expanding AI infrastructure. TrendForce said global DRAM industry revenue jumped 59.5 percent quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter of 2026, while supply expansion continued to lag demand growth.

Ma Jihua, a veteran telecom industry analyst, told the Global Times that the global DRAM market is still dominated by a handful of major suppliers, including Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and Micron, making technological advances by additional players closely watched by the industry.

Ma noted that advances in high-end memory technologies could strengthen China's indigenous innovation and technological self-reliance in key semiconductor technologies, improve supply-chain resilience and provide downstream manufacturers with more sourcing options.