Memory module houses look to Micron as alternative NAND flash source
Ingrid Lee, Taipei; Esther Lam, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 31 July 2007]
Since Apple has booked considerable amounts of NAND flash from suppliers, those memory module houses that are unable to source sufficient stock are now looking to Micron Technology as an alternative supplier, according to sources at Taiwan memory module houses.
The sources indicated that these memory module makers are now introducing Micron's NAND flash chips for their memory cards in small volumes. They expects that tight NAND flash supply will ease from August, the sources added.
However, some industry players doubt whether tight supply will ease, citing the production status of major NAND flash chip makers. They added in saying that supply for low-density chips such as 2Gb and 4Gb is indeed in severe shortage. The recent tight supply for those segments is not expected to improve in the near term, they noted.
Taiwan IC Packaging (TICP), which is involved in chip packaging and memory card production, admitted facing difficulties in sourcing NAND flash wafers, which in turn have affected its memory card sales. However, the company said a pick-up in sales from quad-flat-pack-no lead (QFN) and lead-frame base packaging should help offsetting the pressure from memory card production.
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