Nikkei Electronics Asia -- September 2009
Features
[Web Exclusive] Micron Technology Enters Graphics Memory Market

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Sept 9, 2009 00:00 Motoyuki Oishi

Memory leader Micron Technology Inc of the US will enter the graphics memory market, it was revealed at an interview with Nikkei Electronics in July 2009. Micron Technology pulled ahead of Elpida Memory Inc of Japan in dynamic random access memory (DRAM) market share for the Jan-Mar quarter of 2009, pushing into third place overall. In May 2009 it acquired Displaytech Inc of the US, which was involved in liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) technology, and is moving to enter the compact projector market as well.

Micron Technology uses 50nm-generation manufacturing technology, a step ahead of its competitors, to manufacture graphics memory (Fig 1). It will release Double-Data-Rate3 (DDR3) memory for personal computer (PC) graphics cards along with Graphics DDR5 (GDDR5) products for next-generation home game systems. 

The graphics memory market has been essentially monopolized for years by Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Hynix Semiconductor Inc, both of Korea, and Qimonda AG of Germany, but now Micron Technology will join in. The move was partially triggered by the collapse of Qimonda. Robert Feurle, VP of DRAM Marketing at Micron Semiconductor (Deutschland) GmbH of Germany, explains: "Our only rivals are Samsung and Hynix. Qimonda is out of the race, for all intents and purposes, leaving room for us to jump in even with a share of zero."

Utilizing Extra Capacity

Feurle was originally a high-level executive at Qimonda. As senior vice-president in charge of the firm's DRAM business, he also handled its graphics memory operations, making him an expert in the field. Micron Technology simultaneously picked up Matthias Buchner, who served as vice president in charge of DRAM marketing at Qimonda. Qimonda held a 26% share of the graphics memory market in the third quarter of 2008 (global shipment volume), and it seems reasonable to assume that the firm had a pretty good understanding of the market. Micron Technology picked up Qimonda's expertise in graphics memory by hiring two of their former executives. 

One goal of Micron Technology's entry into the market is to make better use of the enormous manufacturing capacity it acquired from Qimonda. In the first half of 2009, Micron Technology purchased half the production capacity of Inotera Memories Inc of Taiwan, a DRAM manufacturer, from Qimonda. The two 300mm fabs held by Inotera Memories have a total monthly production capacity of 120,000 wafers, and this capacity made it possible for Micron Technology to consider moving into new fields.