(Japanese Site)
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| 64Mb DRAMs to be Mainstream Product in Second Half of 1998
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June 30, 1998 (TAIPEI) -- With prices of 16Mb DRAM microchips falling under US$2 a unit, Taiwan-based
semiconductor makers are eager to shift their focus of production to 64Mb chips.
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Market analysts said that OEM orders from Japanese firms have boosted the output of 64Mb DRAM chips among
Taiwan's producers, and the steady growth of demand will help the microchip become the mainstream product
in the second half of this year.
Promos Technologies Inc. produces 20,000 64Mb DRAM chips (0.25 micron) a month, and it plans to proceed
to the 0.20-micron level. Winbond Electronics Corp.'s first 8-inch wafer plant now produces 8,000 units
of 64Mb DRAM chips a month, and the figure is expected to reach 15,000 units by the end of the year.
Market analysts said that the increasing demand for upgrading the memory of personal computers as well as
the growing prevalence of the Internet and multimedia technologies will help absorb excess supply.
The analysts added that many major manufacturers, including Acer Semiconductor (previously TI-Acer Inc.)
and Mosel Vitelic Inc., have either cut DRAM output, shifted production lines to logic ICs, embedded
memory or 64Mb DRAM chips, or given up on 16Mb DRAMs. Therefore, they say, the DRAM market is likely to
bottom out this year and start rebounding in 1999.
(Commercial Times, Taiwan)
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