The DRAM Race - Hynix Produces 1 Gigabit Chips at 66nm

Hynix Semiconductor has completed (almost) the development of DRAM memory chips using 66-nanometer technology, moving ahead of Samsung Electronics for the first time in their race. Hynix announced it has produced samples of the 1-gigabit chips based on the 66-nanometer design, which is the most delicate technique in making DRAM (dynamic random access memory) chips. So far, Hynix and Samsung Electronics are selling chips based on the 80-nanometer level, reports Hankooki.

The leader in introducing chips of higher density was always Samsung Electronics, but the distance between the two players has narrowed in recent years, with Samsung announcing the development of a 70-nano DRAM last year and Hynix coming up with a 66-nanometer product this year.

"We haven't completed all the process of developing 66-nano chips, but we do have produced samples. We are in the late stage of the R&D process", said a company spokesman. "The date for the mass production is yet to be decided", he added.

The 66-nanometer technology is known to roughly double the transistor density compared to the previous generation. It also reduces power consumption and heat generation, which have caused headaches for computer engineers. A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter. It is the basic unit of electric wires of microcircuit inside the semiconductor chips. The smaller the number is, the greater the density of the chip can be increased.

In July, Samsung has begun the mass production of NAND flash memory chips using a 60-nanometer process. But as for DRAMs, the company is still bound to the 80-nanometer process. Samsung has announced last year that it has completed developing 70-nanometer DRAMs but it hasn't adopt it in mass production.

With the upcoming introduction of the 66-nano chips, Hynix is expected to take another leap as a major player in the global chip market. It was the world's ninth largest chipmaker last year, but it has moved up to the seventh place in the first half of the year, according to a report from market researcher iSuppli.

Samsung is the leader in the DRAM and flash memory fields, with quarterly sales of $4.4 billion in the second quarter. Intel is the largest firm in the semiconductor market overall, with quarterly sales of $7.1 billion. Hynix had $1.7 billion. The DRAM market has been continuously expanded since it is used as a main part of personal computers and other digital gadgets. Dataquest expected that the size of the global DRAM market will grow from $28.7 billion this year to $32.2 billion next year.

As a worldwide perspective, comparing supplier's regional competitiveness, Samsung maintains a stronger position in Europe and the Americas. Infineon is well positioned in the Americas, Europe and Asia/Pacific, excluding China. Micron is strong on its home turf, the Americas. Hynix remains a major supplier in China and Japan. As the DRAM market share battlefield moves increasingly to Asia in the second half of the year, competition in the region will become more intense, iSuppli predicts.