Elpida, Spansion claim charge-trapping NAND flash

By Suzanne Deffree, Managing editor, news -- EDN, September 3, 2010

Elpida Memory Inc and Spansion Inc claim to have created the industry's first charge-trapping 1.8 V, 4-gigabit SLC (single level cell) NAND flash memory.

The NAND memory is based on Spansion's MirrorBit charge-trapping technology and is being produced at Elpida's 300-mm Hiroshima factory.

The memory follows on a late July announcement from Elpida and Spansion in which the two companies broadened their existing relationship for joint development of NAND process technology and products to include a foundry services agreement for NAND Flash memory. At that time, Elpida also secured a non-exclusive license to Spansion NAND IP based on MirrorBit.

"Elpida has obtained good chips from its first trial lot of charge trap NAND flash memory," Yukio Sakamoto, president and CEO of Elpida, said in a statement. "Our preparations to manufacture our NAND flash memory as soon as possible are well under way, which should enable us to deliver it to customers looking forward to it soon."

Elpida plans to combine NAND flash with Mobile RAM to sell mobile consumer products. Meanwhile, Spansion is developing NAND solutions for the embedded and select wireless markets. The company continues to produce and sell its NOR flash memory products to its customers in the automotive, consumer, communications, industrial, and select wireless market segments.

"This is an important milestone in our recently announced alliance with Elpida," said John Kispert, president and CEO of Spansion, in the statement. "The teams have made significant progress in this development and we believe it will benefit both Elpida's and Spansion's customers with new NAND products targeted at the specific market segments we each serve."

Elpida plans to start shipping samples of the 1.8 V 4-gigabit NAND flash memory in Q4. Mass production is scheduled for Q1 2011. Elpida said it is developing 2-gigabit and 1-gigabit density products in addition to its 4-gigabit products.

Spansion will ship samples in Q1 2011 and will begin production in Q2 2011.

Both companies are also developing 3.0 V products and plan to develop 1-gigabit, 2-gigabit, and 4-gigabit products.