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Technology Stocks : SILICON STORAGE SSTI Flash Mem -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Don Edgerton who wrote (629)	7/6/2000 4:30:33 AM
From: Allegoria	Respond to of 1881

Flash Market Update Major availability problems with flash memory supplies! semiconductoronline.com{2463F60B-3FB7-11D4-8C50-009027DE0829}&Bucket=Chip+Price+Report Product manager Paul Zecher reports that franchised distributors for Atmel are claiming major availability problems with flash and EPROMs. Reported lead times are well over one year with no indication of even partial deliveries in the near future. Because Atmel is one of the smaller flash manufacturers, brokers are unsure when these supply issues will be over. Open market prices are soaring to as much as 300% above direct pricing on all 1, 2, and 4 meg Atmel flash devices, with no significant amount of parts available. Zecher told Semiconductor Online that Atmel had been filling part of the void left when larger suppliers were unable to meet demand earlier this year. Now, OEMs who specified Atmel parts six months ago are finding themselves scrambling. Significant capacity expansions are underway at both Intel and AMD, and most other flash suppliers are also planning to build. Still, it will take eight to 15 months for these new supplies to reach the market. At least for the time being, Zecher said he is not concerned about a possible overcapacity-induced crash in the flash memory market. Manufacturers need their current fab expansions to meet current demand, and are not building in anticipation of future demand.

To: Don Edgerton who wrote (629)	7/6/2000 7:09:44 AM
From: Allegoria	Respond to of 1881

Flash: Analysts expect chip shortages to continue perhaps even beyond 2002, into 2003 or 2004. Potential relief in the Flash market is even less likely, according to NECX flash and SRAM memory commodity manager, Paul Zecher. Ref: semiconductoronline.com “Industry analysts are expecting the flash shortage to last well into 2001 and possibly 2002. As a result, this will slow up the availability of wireless communication devices such as cell phones and palm computers,” he said. Reports that Nintendo will experience shortages of Game Boys by sometime this summer or fall are already beginning to surface. Adding insult to injury, Zecher said that digital set top boxes will only compound the Flash crunch as they start coming to market sometime this year. “$39 and $59 cell phones are going to become more like $59-plus phones now that a $3 dollar chip is going for $30,” he added. Despite Intel’s announcement that they will convert at least one MMX factory to Flash production and Fujitsu/AMD’s intention to build another $1.9 billion Flash fab, analysts expect chip shortages to continue across all densities – perhaps even beyond 2002, into 2003 or 2004. “As long as they keep developing new technology that’s wireless, and more and more people switch over to Internet telephones, there’s definitely going to be a shortage in flash memory and all transistors, capacitors and other components that go with them,” Zecher said. Although Flash leaders Intel and AMD have not announced any intention to increase prices since the 33 percent hike in late 1999, NECX experts say that companies searching the open market may even have to pay more by this fall than the current triple or quadruple prices on Flash Ics

To: Don Edgerton who wrote (629)	7/6/2000 7:35:19 AM
From: Allegoria	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1881

Another perspective of AMKOR's product. Ref:http://www.semiconductoronline.com/content/news/article.asp?DocID={1502913B-4CE7-11D4-8C54-009027DE0829}&Bucket=Technology+News Amkor prototypes System-in-Package 6/28/2000 By Kathereine Derbyshire System-on-chip (SOC) designs are attractive at first glance, but difficult to execute. They squeeze a handful if ICs and passive components onto a single die, reducing board footprint and total manufacturing cost. Yet many of the most commonly cited applications for SOC use a wide range of process technologies. For example, wireless applications are likely to require bipolar silicon or even GaAs circuitry in addition to logic and memory. Combining such disparate processes on a single chip can eliminate many of the cost benefits of integration. Tying IP blocks together is a challenging design task as well. Only a few vendors can muster the necessary design and process expertise. For the rest, system-in-package (SiP) designs offer many of the same advantages. Like SOC, SiP designs can be treated as a single functional block, ready to drop in to the overall system. Instead of a single chip, though, an SiP contains individual IC and passive components, bonded to a laminate substrate. SiP differs from multichip modules and hybrids because it relies on inexpensive plastic laminates and standard bonding and die attach methods. Patrick McKinney, senior VP of business development for Amkor Technology's Modules Group (Chandler, AZ, USA), explained that development of SiP modules requires close coordination between chip design, package design, and test development. For example, both the chip and package designs must minimize parasitic effects due to antennas and coils. Moreover, the finished design must meet both performance and manufacturability requirements. Amkor's recently opened package prototype line allows the company to develop functional, manufacturable package designs in collaboration with the customer. Since Amkor's main SiP manufacturing facility is in the Philippines, having a prototype line and design staff in the United States reduces turnaround time. The line can handle both flip chip and wirebond assembly processes. McKinney told Semiconductor Online that Amkor is currently working on prototypes with five or six customers. The line is processing six to eight lots per week, leaving lots of equipment time free for additional projects.