(Nikkei BP Group)
(No.1 High-Tech News Site in Japanese)
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| LG Semicon to Bolster Microchip Foundry Business
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November 20, 1998 (SEOUL) -- LG Semicon Co., Ltd. will focus on the silicon
foundry business as a mainstay of its semiconductor business, in addition
to the dynamic random access memory (DRAM) sector.
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The Korean IC company seeks to obtain 30 percent of the overall value
of its business from silicon foundry operations by 2002, Nikkei Microdevices
learned.
The silicon foundry business offers outsourcing services for manufacturing
of microchips designed by other companies. This business eliminates
the risk of capital investments for a semiconductor manufacturer, because
the producer does not need to develop or market the microchips.
The global silicon foundry business is expanding mainly through Taiwan-based
semiconductor makers.
LG Semicon said it has been building an infrastructure for the silicon
foundry business since the beginning of 1998.
The microchip company is converting its process technologies obtained
through DRAM production into a system-on-a-chip business while also
building up a user-friendly design environment, company officials said.
Also, LG Semicon will supply customers with a cell library free of charge.
As for its intellectual property, LG Semicon is increasing a line for
ARM, a popular microprocessor core, and other chips. LG Semicon plans
to offer a Java processor, which it has been developing, as an IP product,
the company officials added.
The company said it hopes to retain an edge over Taiwan's silicon foundries
because its process technologies are fostered through large-scale DRAM
production. Although DRAM chips and logic IC chips require different
technologies, the production lines of DRAM chips also can make logic
chips. That's because both technologies share the same fundamental infrastructures,
the company officials noted.
(Nikkei
Microdevices)
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