Samsung starts production of 20-nano class DRAM, flash memories

SEOUL, Sept. 22 (Yonhap) -- Samsung Electronics Co., the world's top memory chip supplier, said Thursday that it started to mass produce memory chips based on the 20-nanometer class technology in a move to cement its leadership and weather the industry-wide downturn.
The company also started operations of its 16th production line south of Seoul, which it claims is the world's largest memory production facility. The new plant will manufacture NAND flash memory devices, it said.
Global dynamic random access memory (DRAM) makers in Taiwan and Japan are producing memory chips based on 30 or 40-nanometer technology. The finer the technology is, the cheaper and more cost-effective it is to mass produce memory chips, which in turn results in better margins.
Samsung's aggressive move to ramp up its chip supply during a severe industry downturn will likely widen its lead over second-tier rivals, analysts said.
Global chipmakers are facing increasing pressure to adopt more advanced technology in order to lower production costs, as weak demand for personal computers and the limping global economy has battered prices of DRAM devices this year.
Hynix Semiconductor Inc., the world's second-biggest chipmaker based in South Korea, aims to introduce DRAM chips based on the 20-nanometer class technology next year. Elpida Memory Inc., the world's No. 3 DRAM maker, claimed earlier this year that it became the world's first company to produce 25-nanometer DRAM chips. Samsung, however, questioned the claim.
Samsung said the new 16th production line will begin producing 10-nanometer NAND flash memory chips next year.
ylee@yna.co.kr
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