Samsung

The leader remains unchanged. Samsung, which retained the leading position in the world’s memory market since the end of last year, now announced that they begin the mass production of 1GB DDR II memory modules built of 512Mbit chips with 533MHz frequency, that is, complying with the PC4300 specification. We only wonder what the word “mass” means here? And where can you use these modules in mass volumes now? Anyway, a number of manufacturers are going to roll out products supporting DDR II this year, so we can’t but be happy about Samsung’s willingness to rush ahead. Moreover, as Samsung claims they can raise the frequency to 667MHz (PC5400) with absolutely no or very little effort.

Micron

Meanwhile, the number two racer, Micron, running notably behind, prefers to make up for it with higher capacities. Tin March the company announced the first shipments of 4GB registered PC2100 DIMM modules and also showed the first samples of 0.11micron 512Mbit DDR400 chips, which, unlike the modules, can become a potential hit of the year. Not now, of course, but by the time and annual results are announced. We hope that the 0.11micron process, into which Micron put so much money and effort, will help the company out of its present troubles: according to the recent quarterly report they suffered quite a big loss of $619 million.

Hynix

Otherwise, Micron can follow the fate of its might-have-been purchase, currently being hunted from all sides. In the end of March we learned that the European Commission found Hynix guilty of dumping and set a 35% protective duties for its products. It’s impossible to be competitive in the today’s market with such a burden on your shoulders, so Hynix leaves the European market in April. Well, there are two more big places: Asia and the USA. But in the latter a similar suit is underway. So, the company has prepared a kind of safety net by investing extra $100 million into its Oregon fab to transfer it to the 0.13micron process. No custom duties can act against goods produced directly on place, by the definition.

Nanya

Still, Hynix is going down, greeting Nanya that is coming from below and at a much quicker pace. The Taiwanese Nanya has already entered the Top Five of world DRAM manufacturers, ousting such an experienced player as Elpida. And it doesn’t seem to be slowing down at all. Nanya is going to come over to the 0.11micron manufacturing process by the end of this year, not in early 2004, as it has been planned before. And this process is going to become very (vitally!) important in the near future.

Nanya is also surprisingly fast in reacting to what is happening in the world. Some time ago, it pioneered the transition to DDR SDRAM, and now it … involves a part of its production facilities into manufacturing of SDRAM that has become more expensive today. It doesn’t spurn off new products, though: NVIDIA has contracted Nanya to ship graphics memory chips. This means that Nanya can compete at equal terms with the traditional NVIDIA’s supplier, Samsung. Well, what else could you imagine considering their huge investments into business and R&D.

More to the point: Nanya said that co-operation with Infineon will allow spending more on research & development and it’s going to be ready for 0.09micron technology in 2004. Infineon has been a sort of throwing out its technological potential to all who are willing to catch: the Chinese SMIC licensed the 0.11micron process and also technologies to bake those 300mm wafers. That’s good for SMIC as they are now building a 300mm fab.