thomas
here is the article from last week where you can read all about the enormous ongoing rambus production ramp up. read it twice it should answer all of your questions. you too reh (aka mckinziewebster). and remember demand for rdram is 5X higher than this production. that is why the frenzy to get into production right now is occurring.
Silicon Valley- The Direct Rambus DRAM manufacturing machine is heaving into action with a horde of product introductions as chip and module suppliers prepare to meet anticipated demand for the next-generation memory architecture.
Claiming an advantage in density, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. has launched a 144-Mbit Direct RDRAM chip with error-correction coding that it will support with a 144-Mbyte Rambus In-Line Memory Module (RIMM).
Doubling the capacity of the 72-Mbit Direct RDRAM that it rolled out in July, Samsung said the device will quickly replace lower-density parts and enjoy market dominance well into 2000.
"The 144-Mbit density is critical to getting market acceptance," said Avo Kanadjian, vice president of memory marketing for Samsung Semiconductor Inc., San Jose. "It will be at price parity with the 64-Mbit version [of Direct RDRAM] by the middle of 1999."
By the third quarter of next year, Samsung will have ramped output to one million 128- and 144-Mbit DRAM chips per month, including both Direct RDRAM and PC-100 versions. That number will increase to 3 million devices per month in the fourth quarter, Kanadjian said.
In all, Samsung expects the total available market for 128- and 144-Mbit DRAM to reach 60 million units in 1999. By itself, Direct RDRAM will account for global sales of $2.6 billion next year and reach $13.5 billion in 2000, according to the company.
Samsung's 144-Mbit Direct RDRAM chips are made on a 0.23-micron process technology and can process data at up to 1.6 Gbytes/s. Additionally, Samsung's 144-MByte RIMM can be expanded to 288 MBytes when both sides of the printed-circuit board are bonded.
While Samsung is making inroads on the density front, Siemens Semiconductors claims to have the industry's smallest Direct RDRAM device, a 64/72-Mbit chip that measures just 58 sq. mm. The chips, which are manufactured in a 0.2-micron process technology, were rolled out last week and are slated for volume production in mid-1999.
"With our 0.2-micron process, Siemens is using the most advanced technology and offering the smallest 64/72-Mbit die of any Direct RDRAM silicon known today," said Andreas von Zitzewitz, president of the Cupertino, Calif.-based memory division of Siemens.
In a related development, Smart Modular Technologies Inc., Fremont, Calif., has unveiled RIMMs in 32-, 64, and 128-Mbyte densities based on 64-Mbit Direct RDRAM. Smart Modular will begin limited production of the RIMMs in the first quarter, according to Bill Johnston, the company's vice president of marketing.
The module effort required a great deal of behind-the-scenes preparation, including development of micro-BGA handling technology and test software and hardware that featured advanced X-ray equipment to check solder connections. The RIMM design process also demanded significant engineering expertise to move PCB layout from a digital technique to transmission line theory to adjust for higher operating frequencies, Johnston said.
Even as Smart Modular ramps production, the rest of the module market is moving swiftly to embrace the emerging Rambus technology. The copmpany's competitor, Kingston Technology Inc., for instance, is readying RIMM production with partner Toshiba America Electronic Components Inc.
Under an agreement disclosed last week, Fountain Valley, Calif.-based Kingston said it is working with Toshiba to manufacture RIMMs and the dummy, or so-called Continuity, modules that are required to fill vacant Direct RDRAM memory slots.
Under the agreement, Kingston will provide Irvine, Calif.-based Toshiba with global manufacturing, testing, and order-fulfillment services from production centers in California; Hsinchu, Taiwan; and Dublin, Ireland. Toshiba will manufacture the Direct RDRAM die at its production plant in Yokkaichi, Japan.
The team already has at least one customer to its credit, announcing that RIMM shipments were sent to Dell Computer Corp. last month. |
