JEDEC Solid State Technology Association has announced that development on the highly anticipated DDR5 (Double Data Rate 5) memory is moving along rapidly and that it expects to publish the design standards in 2018. JEDEC, the world leader in semiconductor engineering and standards, will hold its Server Forum event in Santa Clara, California on June 19. Industry users will be able to learn more about DDR5 at the event.

The DDR5 announcement comes just three years after DDR4 was released. This comes as a welcome surprise given that memory standards take many years to be upgraded. The DDR3 RAM, for instance, first hit the market back in 2007. It is still supported by the dual channel memory controllers inside Intel's desktop Kaby Lake CPUs, which were released in January this year.

According to JEDEC, DDR5 memory will have twice the density and bandwidth of DDR4. It will also offer greater power efficiency and channel efficiency, as well as a more user-friendly interface for both client and server platforms.

JEDEC is also working on NVDIMM-P, a high capacity persistent memory module that will add to the existing NVDIMM-N standards. Tech Report notes that the next-generation NVDIMM standard will face off against Intel's Optane products.

Apart from the upcoming Server Forum, JEDEC will also be hosting technical workshops where attendees will have the chance to get a deeper look at the DDR5 and the NVDIMM-P standards. "Increasing server performance requirements are driving the need for more advanced technologies, and the standardization of next-generation memory such as DDR5 and the new generation persistent modules NVDIMM-P will be essential to fulfilling those needs," Mian Quddus, chairman of the JEDEC Board of Directors, said in a statement. "Work on both standards is progressing quickly, and we invite all interested engineers worldwide to visit the JEDEC website for more information about JEDEC membership and participation in JEDEC standards-setting activities."

Though JEDEC has not offered a possible release date for DDR5, industry insiders are anticipating a 2019 launch. This is in line with the release schedule for DDR3 and DDR4, both of which hit the market roughly two years after they were first announced.