Samsung Electronics said Wednesday it had begun mass producing DRAM chips for automobiles, which can endure heat of up to 125 degrees Celsius.

The chips are 10-nanometer-class 16-gigabit DRAM capable of enduring hot temperatures during automotive applications.

The latest 16Gb DRAM is the industry’s first automotive solution, raising the temperature threshold from the current 105 degrees Celsius to 125 degrees Celsius, making them automotive grade 1-compliant. 

The rating means that even in environments with high temperatures, the chip’s data processing speed comes in at 4,266 megabits per second, a 14 percent increase from the previous 8Gb DRAM that is based on 20 nm process technology.

The new memory’s power efficiency has also been improved by 30 percent. The 10 nm-class DRAM will enable the industry’s fastest automotive DRAM-based interface with the highest density, the company said.

“The 16Gb LPDDR4X DRAM is our most advanced automotive solution yet, offering global automakers outstanding reliability, endurance, speed, capacity and energy efficiency,” said Chun Se-won, senior vice president of memory marketing at Samsung.

By Song Su-hyun (song@heraldcorp.com)