Couple of good articles on Techweb. Here is one:
March 30, 1998, TechWeb News
EPROMs/ROMs -- Vendors struggle in
steadily declining markets, but ASPs are
generally firming
By
EPROM and ROM vendors - buffeted by the increasing use of more-flexible
flash on the one hand and other memory technologies, such as CD-ROMs,
on the other - continue to struggle in steadily declining markets. However,
generally firming ASPs may provide some good news for suppliers that stay
the course.
But the course is slippery: The EPROM market plunged by one-third to $735
million in 1997 and is forecast to drop to $625 mil- lion this year. The market
for EPROMs will crash to $349 million, less than half its current value, in
2002, according to analysts at IC Insights Inc., Scottsdale, Ariz. Little
wonder then that the top suppliers - AMD, Atmel, Cypress, Fairchild,
Macronix, SGS-Thomson, and Texas Instruments - all experienced
double-digit revenue declines in 1997, ranging from -18% to -49%,
according to IC Insights.
EPROMs are dying, as the market falls 20% a year, but there are several
years of useful life left, said Howard Shumway, product-line director at
Fairchild Semiconductor, Salt Lake City. Full-featured flash ICs and, to some
extent, higher-density EEPROMs, are doing most of the damage, he said.
However, plastic-bodied, one-time-programmable (OTP) EPROMs provide
a cheaper way to store code than flash ICs once the software is debugged,
Shumway said. Even so, vendors are putting advanced-process-development
dollars into flash and not EPROMs, he added.
A bright spot may be the multiple-time programmable (MTP) EPROMs
being developed by several vendors. Cheaper than full-featured flash, MTPs
incorporate a derated flash-like technology into EPROM packages for
applications not requiring high reprogrammability, Shumway said. However,
Mauro Decca, group vice president of memory products at SGS-Thomson in
Agrate, Italy, is skeptical because MTPs could prove slower and more
expensive than OTPs. SGS-Thomson could make MTPs for large customers,
but there is no wafer demand at this time, he said.
Permanently programmed ROMs are not in much better shape. That market,
which fell from $1.3 billion in 1996 to slightly more than $1 billion in 1997, is
expected to decline this year to $923 million, IC Insights said. It will drop to
$646 million in 2002, analysts predict.
However, the yen-to-dollar exchange rate is a factor because, in serving the
large Japanese market, Japanese vendors Hitachi, Macronix, NEC, Sharp,
and Toshiba dominate the top ROM supplier list, IC Insights said.
Even so, while 16-Mbit and higher densities will predominate, overall unit
shipments will continue to decline as customers look for higher-density
memories, such as CD-ROMs, for several applications, the firm said.
---
DIRECTORY FOR TOP-RANKED EPROM/ROM SUPPLIERS
EPROMs-
Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
1 AMD Pl.
Sunnyvale, Calif. 94088-3453
(408) 732-2400
Sales Contact: (800) 538-8450 or (408) 732-2400
Products: n/a
Developments: n/a
Plans: n/a
---
Atmel Corp.
2325 Orchard Pkwy.
San Jose, Calif. 95131
(408) 441-0311
Sales Contact: Dirk Franklin, director of EPROM marketing, (408)
436-4110
Products: Atmel EPROM (AT27 Series): 2 Mbit, 512 Kbit, 1 Mbit, 4 Mbit,
and 256 Kbit.
Developments: 4-Mbit and 2-Mbit devices with 55-ns access times;
advanced packages include the plastic chipscale BGA, supersmall TSSOP,
VSOP, which is a type-1 TSOP that is only 14-mm long; AT27C520, which
is a 512-Kbit device with integrated address latch that is targeted for the
80C51 controller market.
Plans: Move to 0.35-micron technology; sub-2.7-V operation; production
ramp of an interleaved 1-Mbit, x16, 35-ns, 3-V device; production release of
the byte-selectable 4-Mbit and 8-Mbit devices, which are pinout compatible
with mask ROM and flash. OTP EPROM will continue to remain the
lowest-cost user-programmable nonvolatile-memory solution. In addition, at
lower densities, OTP can compare favorably with mask ROM.
---
Cypress Semiconductor Corp.
3901 N. First St.
San Jose, Calif. 95134
(408) 943-2600
Sales Contact: n/a
Products: n/a
Developments: n/a
Plans: n/a
---
Fairchild Semiconductor Corp.
1322 Crossman Ave.
Mail Stop M-100
Sunnyvale, Calif. 94089
Sales Contact: (888) 522-5372
Products: Low-density, medium-density, high-density, low-voltage, and fast
EPROM
Developments: Fairchild introduced robust, high-performance fast EPROM.
Fairchild and Tower Semiconductor Ltd. entered a joint agreement to
develop next-generation flash technology.
Plans: Fairchild has a long-term commitment to supply EPROMs and will
continue to add products to its portfolio.
---
Macronix America Inc.
1338 Ridder Park Dr.
San Jose, Calif. 95131
Tel: (408) 451-8088
Sales Contact: All products - K.C. Shekar, director of strategic marketing,
(408) 451-3808; Mark Vecchiarelli, area sales manager, Western area,
(408) 451-0865; Dick Tierney, director of sales, Central and Eastern area,
all products, (847) 963-1900
Products: During the year, Macronix enjoyed strong demand from the
CD-ROM, graphics-card, HDD, and VCD market areas for these five
top-selling products: 256-Kbit/512-Kbit, 1-Mbit, 2-Mbit, 4-Mbit, and
8-Mbit.
Developments: The company introduced 512-Kbit and 1-Mbit
multiple-time-programmable (MTP) EPROMs (sampling and production),
which it says combine the good features of flash and UV EPROMs but are
better than one-time-programmable EPROMs and less expensive than flash
or UV EPROMs. Macronix also began sampling standard 16-Mbit
EPROMs.
Plans: In EPROMs, the company is targeting a significant increase from 1997
in their rate of growth. Production of 5-V-only MTP devices will begin, as
well as the expansion of their offerings to include 2-Mbit to 32-Mbit devices.
New EPROM products will be produced on a 0.45-micron technology,
initially, and move to smaller geometries during the production cycle.
---
SGS-Thomson Microelectronics Inc.
55 Old Bedford Rd.
Lincoln, Mass. 01773
(781) 259-0300
Sales Contact: Sales office,
(781) 259-0300
Products: High-density EPROMs: 4-, 8-, and 16-Mbit; M27C4001, 4002,
4-Mbit (x8, x16); M27C800, 801, 8-Mbit (x8/x16, x8); and M27C160,
16-Mbit (x8/x16)
Medium-density EPROMs: M27C1001 (1-Mbit), and M27C2001
(2-Mbit). Low-density EPROMs: M27C64, 256B, 512-64-Kbit, 256-Kbit,
and 512-Kbit. There has been a strong increase in the demand for
very-high-density (8-Mbit and 16-Mbit) EPROMs and a significant increase
for ST plastic one-time-programmable EPROMs over the previous year.
Developments: SGS designed a 32-Mbit EPROM that is sampling. The
company used new architectures, based on agreements with WSI, for other
high-density products. It launched low-voltage versions (2.7-V minimum
operation) of nearly all products and improved their access times. Standard
devices as fast as 35 ns are available. SGS continued to upgrade technology
to reduce costs and improve performance and quality across a broad range
of densities.
Plans: During the next year, the company plans to extend its range of
high-density products with a design for a 64-Mbit EPROM. It will introduce
multilevel technology, the storage of more than one bit per memory cell,
considerably reducing the chip size needed for a given density. SGS plans to
take advantage of the advanced 0.25-micron to 0.35-micron flash-memory
process developments to make upgrades and continue to achieve significant
cost reductions. A new, highly competitive low-voltage product range will be
introduced, featuring improved power/speed performance.
---
Texas Instruments Inc.
Semiconductor Group
Literature Response Center
P.O. Box 172228
Denver, Colo. 80217
Sales Contact: (800) 477-8924, Ext. 4500
Products: n/a
Developments: n/a
Plans: n/a
---
ROMs-
Hitachi America Ltd.
Semiconductor & IC Division
2000 Sierra Point Pkwy.
Brisbane, Calif. 94005-1835
(800) 285-1601
Products: 256-Kbit parallel EEPROM, HN58V256A series; 64-Kbit
parallel EEPROM, HN58V65A series; 1-Mbit parallel EEPROM,
HN58C1001 series; 4-Mbit MaskROM, HN62454 series; 8-Mbit
MaskROM, HN62448N series.
Developments: A 256-Kbit parallel EEPROM was designed into Motorola's
next-generation cell phone, code-named Galaxy. A 256-Kbit parallel
EEPROM was designed into Ericsson's next-generation cell phone, Jane
Platform. Hitachi has leveraged its parallel-EEPROM technology to develop
serial EEPROMs using the I2C interface.
The serial-EEPROM product line will officially be announced in the second
quarter. The key feature is the ability to maintain a 400-kHz operating
frequency down to 1.8 V. This enables maximum speed at ultralow power.
Plans: Hitachi plans to continue the development of serial EEPROMs,
enabling it to play in the entire serial market. The company hopes to capture
5% to 10% of the North American serial-EEPROM market and maintain its
position in the parallel-EEPROM market.
---
Macronix America Inc.
1338 Ridder Park Dr.
San Jose, Calif. 95131
Tel: (408) 451-8088
Sales Contact: All products - K.C. Shekar, director of strategic marketing,
(408) 451-3808; Mark Vecchiarelli, area sales manager, Western area,
(408) 451-0865; Dick Tierney, director of sales, Central & Eastern area, all
products, (847) 963-1900
Products: Macronix's five top-selling mask ROMs in 1997 were 96 Mbit, 64
Mbit, 32 Mbit, 16 Mbit, and 4 Mbit.
The company's high-density 96-Mbit and 64-Mbit mask ROMs provided
more than half of its mask-ROM revenue, with the remainder of sales coming
from the lower-density, 4-Mbit, 16-Mbit, and 32-Mbit products. Macronix
offered these products in a variety of organizations, including x8, x16, and
x32, and many of these devices are pin-compatible with the company's flash
and EPROM devices for migration purposes.
Developments: Macronix began volume shipments of 128-Kbit devices. The
company used 0.37-micron technology to produce all high-density products
from 32-Mbit to 128-Mbit. Mask-ROM business increased 22.5%
Plans: In 1998, Macronix is targeting a substantial increase in its rate of
growth in mask ROMs from 1997. Initially, the company will use its
0.32-micron technology, moving to a 0.25-micron technology by the second
half of the year. The company expects to be able to support
256-Mbit-density products this year.
---
NEC Electronics Inc.
2880 Scott Blvd.
P.O. Box 58062
Santa Clara, Calif. 95052-8062
Sales Contact: (800) 366-9782
Products: Very low volume.
Developments: Developments are a low priority at NEC Electronics in the
U.S. market.
Plans: Plans are also a very low priority at NEC Electronics in the U.S.
market.
---
Sharp Electronics Corp.
5700 NW Pacific Rim Blvd.
Camas, Wash. 98607
(360) 834-2500
Sales Contact: Ed Markiewicz, vice president of North American sales,
(360) 834-8960; Jason Powell, mask ROM product manager, (360)
834-8927.
Products: Page mode - 16 Mbits, 32 Mbits, 3 V; low-voltage - 8 Mbits, 16
Mbits, 32 Mbits.
Developments: 16 Mbit/32 Mbit, 100/30, 3-V printer x16, x32; 64-Mbit
page mode 120/50 ns, 3 V; 120/40 ns, 3 V; for Windows CE for handheld
PCs; 128-Mbit page-mode synchronous mask ROM for printers.
Plans: CMOS; 100/30 ns, 3 V for Windows CE for handheld PCs; 32-Mbit
synchronous mask ROM for printers.
---
Toshiba America
Electronic Components Inc.
9775 Toledo Way
Irvine, Calif. 92718
(714) 455-2000
Sales Contact: n/a
Products: n/a
Developments: n/a
Plans: n/a
*EBN attempted to contact all of the top-ranking suppliers, but could not
include all company information due to production deadlines.
Copyright (c) 1998 CMP Media Inc. |
