Toshiba gears up to ship 256-Mbit SDRAMs with 0.175-micron process
A service of Semiconductor Business News, CMP Media Inc.
Story posted noon EST/9 a.m., PST, 9/1/99
TOKYO--Toshiba Corp. today said it has begun shipping engineering prototypes of a 256-megabit synchronous DRAM for evaluation by customers, and product samples of the new memory will be made available in September.
The 256-Mbit chip is being produced with a 0.175-micron process. Toshiba said it plans to begin initial production of the device at its Yokkaichi Works facility in Japan.
"These 256-Mbit SDRAM devices are the next step up from our 128-Mbit, 133-MHz SDRAM for applications that need greater density, performance and bandwidth," said Jamie Stitt, business development manager for the Memory Business Unit at Toshiba America Electronic Components Inc. in Irvine, Calif. "Our 0.175-micron process at Yokkaichi is production-ready and will enable us to ramp production of this high density SDRAM to meet the needs of our customers."
During August, Toshiba completed a program to transition its global DRAM fabs to 0.20-micron processes. The launch of the new 256-Mbit SDRAM begins a new round of upgrades with the introduction of the 0.175-micron technology at Yokkaichi, according to Toshiba.
Toshiba's 256-Mbit SDRAMs are available in three configurations: 64-Mbit-by-4, 32-Mbit-by-8, and 16-Mbit-by-16. Three speed grades are also available: 8, 7.5 and 7 nanoseconds. The 8-ns device conforms to PC100 bus specifications, while the 7.5-ns version meet the 133-MHz specs in PC motherboards, Toshiba said. The 7-ns speed will be used to support customer applications-specific applications, according to the company.
Samples of the 256-Mbit devices will be delivered to customers in September at an initial price of $100 each. Toshiba said it is planning to begin shipments of production quantities in the fourth quarter this year. |
