Ramtron Targets Asia as Design-in Region for FRAM Products by 2008
Apr 04, 2007 11:12
Nikkei Electronics Asia
Ramtron International Corp of the US has detailed the recent expansion of its Asia-Pacific semiconductor business and its strategy for continued growth. The company also unveiled the semiconductor industry's first 4Mb nonvolatile FRAM memory, which is among the key drivers for future growth in the region.
Sales of Ramtron products within the AP region have grown 99% annually from 2001 to 2006, fuelled primarily by utility metering, automotive and RAID controller applications. To foster future growth in the region, the company has recently made significant investments to expand its offices in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Korea, nearly doubling its sales, strategic marketing, and application support staff to create its largest regional sales and marketing team.
In addition to investments in its sales and marketing infrastructure, the company has tuned its product strategy to capitalize on emerging opportunities in Asia. It recently announced automotive grade versions of its stand-alone FRAM memory products, including an ultra high temperature grade 1-qualified device. The company has also expanded its line of FRAM-enhanced processor companion products which combine commonly used system peripherals with nonvolatile FRAM memory on a single chip.
Making additional inroads into the RAID controller market, Ramtron has unveiled the FM22L16 -- claimed to be the industry's first 4Mb nonvolatile FRAM memory product with quadruple the memory capacity available to date. The 4Mb FRAM is a drop-in replacement for standard asynchronous SRAMs, but does not require external batteries or capacitors for data backup and is inherently more reliable due to its monolithic form. This new parallel FRAM device combines Texas Instruments' 130nm manufacturing process with Ramtron's advanced FRAM cell architecture to create the highest density FRAM devices available.
techon.nikkeibp.co.jp
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