Elpida, UMC develop copper low-k DRAM, PRAM
By Ann Steffora Mutschler, Senior Editor -- EDN, October 22, 2007
Tokyo-based DRAM manufacturer Elpida Memory Inc. and Hsinchu, Taiwan-based semiconductor foundry United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) announced a joint development program for advanced DRAM with copper low-k backend, as well as for phase-change random access memory (PRAM).
Elpida and UMC said the collaboration joins Elpida's technology with UMC's advanced copper low-k processes and technology development. Later, UMC will license to Elpida its copper low-k technology for Elpida's production and Elpida will permit UMC to offer DRAM as part of its advanced SoC solutions.
Also under the agreement, the companies said they will cooperate to develop P-RAM technology, coupling Elpida's expertise in GST materials with UMC's expertise in high performance CMOS logic technologies.
Takao Adachi, Elpida's CTO said the agreement with UMC is a step forward for future memory development, as copper low-k technology will help drive the production and continued process migration of high performance DRAMs. "UMC's leading-edge technology together with Elpida's advanced DRAM technology will enable us to provide our customers with DRAMs featuring high speeds, low-power consumption and high density, while accelerating the commercialization of PRAMs, an important next generation memory technology," he said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Shih Wei Sun, UMC's COO said the company looks forward to utilizing the results of the collaboration to bring to market more advanced embedded memory SoC solutions in support of foundry customers.
Last Friday, Elpida also reported its preliminary financial results for the first half of its fiscal year 2007 ending March 31, 2008 with final figures expected Wednesday.
In a repeat of its Q1 performance, Elpida noted that DRAM prices in the Q2 continued to decline.
In the July to September period, which corresponds to Elpida’s Q2, the spot price for DDR2 SDRAM, a leading PC DRAM product, fell to around $2, down from just above $2 in the April to June period and from above $5 in the July to September period last year.
Despite strong DRAM demand from major PC makers in the Q2, contract prices continued to fall due to weakness in spot prices that was the result of a hike in supplies from DRAM makers and inventory releases by some DRAM makers, module makers and distributors, Elpida explained.
Given this pricing environment and an increase in shipment volume (bit shipments rose 113 percent year-over-year and 8 percent sequentially), the company expects that Q2 sales are unlikely to change much. The company anticipates a year-over-year decline in operating income given that DRAM prices were much stronger a year ago, but on a quarter-over-quarter basis, operating income is likely to rise by about 65 percent due to a higher gross profit margin made possible by improved productivity, Elpida said.
In the area of non-operating expenses, Elpida expects an approximate $27.1 million (3.1 billion yen) investment loss under the equity method, mainly due to the Rexchip Electronics Corp. manufacturing joint venture, and a $22.7 million (2.6 billion yen) forex loss.
In the second half of its 2007 fiscal year, Elpida said prices for PC DRAMs can be expected to remain at low levels, therefore, the company will continue its efforts to reduce costs by increasing production based on 70-nm process technology as well as focus on expanding DRAM sales for mobile and digital consumer devices, both of which are expected to support the company’s financial performance.
