Infineon tranfers 90nm DRAM tech to Winbond

Infineon is going to transfer its 90nm DRAM process technology and 12-inch fab production expertise to Winbond Electronics. The two firms are going to use the technology to produce low-power SDRAM and pseudo SRAM (PSRAM). They may also use it to develop flash memory, at some point.

Winbond can use the technology on either 8- or 12-inch wafers, according to Regine Liu, a manager with Infineon Technologies Taiwan. Winbond will also acquire Infineon’s assistance in planning fabrication and in the capacity ramp of its 12-inch fab in Taichung.

In addition, Winbond will reserve a portion of the fab’s capacity for Infineon and will pay license fees and royalties to the Germany-based chipmaker.

Infineon will not fund construction of Winbond’s 12-inch fab, both companies reiterated.

Winbond broke ground for the 12-inch fab in late July and expects to begin mass production in the first quarter of 2006. The fab will have a monthly capacity of 24,000 wafers by the end of 2006 and double that figure in 2007.

At the moment Winbond already produces DRAM with Infineon's 0.11-micron technology at its 8-inch fab.

Source: DigiTimes