The pundits always have their own agenda but I think Gottfried's IC sales vs bookings chart is about to kick in.
There is no doubt Toshiba, Samsung and Hynix will step up to the plate and foundry spending should recover while NorthAmerica (logic Intel. AMD , TI remains stable)
Flash Memory Innovates Digital Life
"Memory is opening a bold new world in consumer electronics," Chang-Gyu Hwang, president and CEO of Samsung Electronics' semiconductor business said recently. "With cards containing multiple 16-Gbit Flash memory chips, you will be able to take your entire music and personal video libraries with you on one small portable device."
Nobody would have imagined that the era of Flash memory devices replacing hard disk drives (HDDs) would come this soon. Samsung Electronics' first 16-Gbit memory devices will further accelerate the expansion of the NAND Flash market throughout mobile and portable digital applications as an alternative to mini-HDDs and even HDDs for laptops.
Samsung Electronics has successfully applied 50nm technology to mass production of the new 16-Gbit NAND Flash memory devices for the first time in the industry. The density is achieved through Samsung's proprietary 3D transistor architecture.
16-Gbit Benefits
With the new device, mobile and portable application designers can use memory cards with densities of up to 32 Gbytes, by combining up to 16 such devices on a single card. Holding 16.4 billion functional transistors, each measuring just two-thousandths the thickness of a human hair, the device enables data storage equal to 8,000 MP3 files (680 hours) or 20 DVD-quality movies (32 hours of high-resolution video) on a mobile device. In addition, it has also achieved 25% reduction in the cell size compared to that of the 8-Gbit NAND Flash memory developed last year using 60nm technology.
Samsung plans to start mass production in the second half of 2006, and introduce a new 32-Gbit product with double capacity next year.
Flash Rush
The semiconductor industry has reached a major turning point in the use of Flash memory for data storage, according to Samsung, leading to what Hwang refers to as a modern-day "Flash rush". He said that tremendous advancements in NAND Flash, as well as a surge in supply and demand for the memory, will change the way end-users utilize consumer electronics products.
(The wheel is turning and you can't slow down,
You can't let go and you can't hold on,
You can't go back and you can't stand still,
If the thunder don't get you then the lightning will.)
Increasing demand for memory products appears to be proving Hwang right. Many manufacturers are developing new versatile products using Flash memory.
The 16-Gbit NAND Flash memory is expected to contribute to the proliferation of NAND as the dominant storage medium in portable digital applications.
"The future of NAND is setting the stage for an irreversible shift in the design of digital end-products as NAND becomes the key storage medium for data in virtually any portable form," Hwang said.
As Flash memory is lighter, consumes less power and is faster than HDDs, the expectation is that it will enrich the current digital life. The falling prices of Flash devices are also making them more attractive than other types of devices.
by Luz Park
Apple looks to source low-density NAND flash from Hynix, as the memory maker ramps capacity, says InSpectrum
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Press release; Esther Lam, DigiTimes.com [Monday 14 November 2005]
In order to fulfill strong iPod related demand, Apple has started asking Hynix Semiconductor to offer quotations for low-density NAND flash, amid a significant upcoming capacity ramp at the South Korea-based memory maker, says research firm InSpectrum. In line with the increased output, contract prices for November for low-density flash have started to decline, InSpectrum noted.
Samsung and Toshiba are Apple’s main NAND flash chip suppliers, but sources indicated that with Toshiba needing to fulfill strong demand from SanDisk, Apple is planning to shift to Hynix for low-density (1Gbit and 512Mbit) parts for the iPod Shuffle.
With the expected output ramp from Hynix, InSpectrum estimates that overall pricing should decline by 1.5% in the second half of November, with 4Gbit and 8Gbit prices staying flat. Price for 2Gbit parts, however, should slip 2%. In the first half of November, only the 8Gbit segment saw increasing prices.
InSpectrum forecasts that supply and demand should return to equilibrium in December, with present demand for memory cards, MP3 players and USB drives remaining vibrant.
NAND flash contract prices, 1H November (US$)
Structure
Density
Price
Change
MLC
2Gbit
$9.2
-
4Gbit
$19.3
-
8Gbit
$39.3
(0.25%)
SLC
1Gbit
$6.4
(4.04%)
2Gbit
$12
(1.63%)
4Gbit
$23.7
-
8Gbit
$45.15
0.22%
Source: InSpectrum, compiled by DigiTimes.com, November 2005. |
