Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Rambus (RMBS) - Eagle or Penguin -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Thai Chung who wrote (19867)	5/10/1999 7:39:00 PM
From: MileHigh	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 93625

This actually sounds positive to me, can you imagine that! <gg> Toshiba, NEC shrink Rambus memories to reduce costs By Anthony Cataldo (05/10/99, 11:39 a.m. EDT) TOKYO — In a move to lower the future cost of Direct RDRAMs, Toshiba Corp. and NEC Corp. said they will soon produce 128- and 144-Mbit versions of the ultra-fast DRAM in 0.2-micron process technology. The chips are slated to move into volume production by the time of Intel Corp.'s expected release of Camino, its first core-logic chip set to support Rambus DRAM, in September. Toshiba announced on Monday (May 10) that it is now shipping samples of what it calls is the industry's smallest die-size 128- and 144-Mbit ECC Direct Rambus parts based on its latest 0.2-micron process technology. The company plans to start producing the chips in volume at its fab in Yokkaichi, Japan in the third quarter. Toshiba said the die sizes for the new 128- and 144-Mbit Direct RDRAMs are 103 mm2 and 114 mm2, respectively. By comparison, Toshiba's latest 0.2-micron 128-Mbit SDRAMs have a die size of 91.7 mm2, making the Rambus part about 12 percent larger than the standard device. The typical die penalty for Direct Rambus has been 20 percent or more, according to analysts and industry observers. Along with higher test and packaging costs, the die penalty of Direct Rambus devices is considered one of the biggest contributors to the devices' high price. In addition, Toshiba has chosen a lower-cost 62-pin chip-scale packaging (CSP) technology that uses standard wire bonding. Toshiba did not employ that technology when it introduced samples of its earlier 72-Mbit Direct Rambus device, a company spokesman said. Chips using the CSP can be mounted on both sides of a Rambus-in-line memory module (RIMM), which will enable modules with capacities of 256 and 288 megabytes. Device samples are approximately $83 and $99 for the 128- and 144-Mbit devices, respectively. Japanese companies' sample prices are typically about three to four times more than volume production prices, said Akira Minamikawa, senior analyst at IDC Japan. Even with the die shrinks, Direct Rambus aren't likely to be priced the same as SDRAMs. Of late, DRAM manufacturers have been selling 64-Mbit devices at a rock-bottom prices ranging from $7 and $9 apiece. But OEMs have shown a willingness to pay extra for better DRAM performance, Minamikawa said. "If Toshiba can offer say $25 for the [128-Mbit] volume price, it's very competitive," he said. "Rambus is still much higher than synchronous [DRAMs], however the speed is better and many PC vendors really want to have Rambus DRAM now." Similarly, NEC plans to shift to a 0.2-micron process technology for 128-Mbit Direct RDRAMs before it starts volume production of the parts in July, a company spokesman said. NEC began sampling 0.22-micron 128-Mbit Direct RDRAM last month. NEC's current 0.22-micron 128-Mbit Direct RDRAMs have a die area of 132 mm2, while its 128-Mbit SDRAM die is 106 mm2. "When it goes to 0.2-micron, [the Direct RDRAM part] should be about the same size as the Toshiba chip," the NEC spokesman said. NEC will likely introduce samples of 0.2-micron 144-Mbit devices — which will be used mainly in high-end systems with large banks of main memory — about the same time, the spokesman said. "We're finding most of the interest [in Rambus] among the PC manufacturers is for the mainstream PCs," the spokesman said. Both NEC and Toshiba's 128-Mbit Direct RDRAMs employ a 256-kword x 16-bit x 32-bank memory structure, and operate at a maximum frequency of 800 MHz to deliver 1.6-gigabyte/second performance. Supply voltage is 2.5 volts. For its part, Toshiba has a strong incentive to become a leading supplier of Direct RDRAMs. Aside from aiming to fulfill pent-up demand generated by PC OEMs, the company is involved in a joint design and manufacturing agreement for key processors that will be used in Sony Corp.'s next-generation Playstation, which will use Direct Rambus DRAMs."Toshiba has already got a good user — Sony," IDC Japan's Minamikawa said. Minamikawa said demand for Direct RDRAMs will be driven primarily by PCs and the Playstation 2, which is expected to hit store shelves in Japan by the end of the year. The new DRAM technology received a setback earlier this year, however, when Intel decided to delay the introduction of the Camino chip set, the analyst said. That has opened up opportunities for faster DRAMs based on SDRAM technology, he said. "The Camino chip set was delayed only three months, however the PC vendors' design time was delayed much longer — at least six months or so," he said.