Elpida completes 65nm chip shrink

Posted on Tuesday, October 07 2008 @ 2:31 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
Japanese memory maker Elpida announced it has completed the development of a 65nm shrink of its 1Gb DDR2 SDRAM chips. The firm says the new shrunken version allows them to deliver 20 percent more chips from a single 300mm wafer.
Volume production of the new shrunken chip is expected to begin before the end of 2008 and will be shared among Elpida's Hiroshima Plant, its Taiwan-based Rexchip joint venture and its manufacturing partner PSC.

The chip size shrink was made possible by applying new architecture to first-generation 65nm process products to achieve a reduced chip size. Using its own 65nm process that has already demonstrated high yields and productivity, Elpida estimates that costs for the shrunken version of 65nm products will be about 20% less compared to first-generation products. Moreover, as the migration to 50nm process technology leads to higher wafer processing costs due to the need for capital expenditures, Elpida believes its new 65nm process-based chip will be cost competitive with 50nm products already announced by other DRAM makers.

Also, Elpida has reached the final stage of developing a 50nm process and plans to complete work in November. The company intends to begin volume production as early as late December this year, ahead of its earlier January-March 2009 timetable. The migration to 50nm products having a chip size of below 40mm2 should further increase performance and lower costs by making it possible to improve productivity roughly 50% compared with the 65nm shrunken version.

The successful development of the new chip shrink now gives Elpida flexibility in making capital spending decisions and choosing manufacturing process composition in response to either prolonged sluggishness in the DRAM market or a relatively early recovery.


About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.



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