Interesting article on ferroelectric production "ramping up". Following is a link to the article reproduced in post 4962 on CMP's EE Times:
techweb.cmp.com
Symetrix is the focus of the article and the content has a slant in favor of Symetrix and their products. The discussion in the article is long on rosy expectations of things in process but seems to be short of specific fact. For example, they give no indication as to the volume of CURRENT production, only what it is going to be in October. The following paragraph is copied from the article:
"Matsushita is now in volume production with FeRAM-based smart cards, churning them out of a 6-inch fab in Japan that will reach its 20,000-wafer-per-month maximum output some time around October. That fab uses 0.6-micron process rules; an 8-inch, 0.35-micron fab also being built in Japan will be wholly dedicated to FeRAMs, reaching full production and a migration to 0.25-micron rules around 2000."
Does anyone know if production in volume HAS begun?
What is the current monthly production volume?
I have heard that Fujitsu is starting volume production of FRAM 2 years after executing the agreement that gave them access to the technology. I expect Fujitsu's cost of production will be quite a bit lower than Ramtron's which will make the chips a lot more marketable and, perhaps, finally bring FRAM to a financial success.
I had also heard that Motorola had tested the Y-1 technology and found it less than desired for the smart card applications in which they wanted to be involved. That was a good, solid rumor I thought. Can anyone shed light on how Y-1 was able to overcome their hurdles? Or, even confirm that MOT has in fact selected Y-1?
One interesting aspect of the article is what it does not say about joint venture agreements. We know Hitachi and Fujitsu have signed agreements with Ramtron and Racom. In this article Motorola is brought in as a manufacturer of ferroelectric chips without a clear indication that the chip they will manufacture is the Y-1. There is also no indication that MOT will use the Y-1 in its own products although that is certainly a reasonable conclusion if they manufacture them. The following link will take you to a copy of the article regarding the Hitachi agreement. Note the discussion of MULTOS(R), which is supported by Mondex International in the 4th paragraph.
biz.yahoo.com
If Y-1 is as good as the article suggests it looks like we have a horse race, but that might well be good for Ramtron. The biggest benefit could well come through the awakening of the smart card market in the US. If that market is developed even by half, half of that business would increase RCOM/RMTR to many multiples of their current values.
The article is interesting but it does seem to be running a disk harrow over ground that has already been pretty well plowed. To me it reads more like an informercial for Symetrix. |
