Intel to Invest in Three U.S. Fabs in the Next Two Years

The announcement that Intel will invest $7 billion to expand and transform three U.S. manufacturing plants should be good news for Korean electronics companies.  Business Week reports  that, as early as this fall, the company plans to start shipping the world's first microprocessors created at the atomic 32 nanometer level--transistors so small that 4 million of them could fit in the period at the end of this sentence.  Intel CEO Paul Otellini said in a speech that "the chips produced by the new fabs will become the basic building blocks of the digital world, generating economic returns far beyond our industry."  By shifting to a more advanced manufacturing process, Intel hopes to make inroads into selling chips not only for PCs, but for consumer electronics, cell phones and other internet-connected devices.  Such chips could substantially lower development costs for Samsung, LG and their international competitors.

Korean Chipmakers Widen Technology Gap in Memory Chips

Just after my previous post about Samsung Electronics development of 40 nanometer technology for manufacturing memory chips, Hynix announced on Sunday that it has developed the world's first one gigabit DRAM chip using 44 nanometer technology!  These announcements make it clear that Korea's main semiconductor manufacturers have opened up a technology lead over their major rivals in other countries.  Reports in the Korea Times and other local press noted that prices of DRAM chips are gaining momentum after the German-based firm Qimonda filed for insolvency.  The productivity of this latest DDR3 (double data rate) chip will be 50 percent greater than chips now on the market.   Production costs and power consumption by the chips will also be lowered.  A significant aspect of this development is that it is based on technology advances within Hynix.

Another World's First in Memory Chips for Samsung Electronics

As reported in the JoongAng Daily, Samsung Electronics has developed DDR2 dynamic random access memory using 40-nanometer technology, becoming the first among the world's leading chipmakers to do so.  This new technology allows Samsung to enhance production by 40 percent over the current 50 nanometer technology that it and Hynix are using.  The 40 nanometer DRAM chip also consumes up to 30 percent less electricity than chips produced with the older technology.

For chip makers, developing higher DRAM density means they can cut production costs and lead market trends by providing the latest DRAM chips at higher prices. Since chips are produced from a wafer, the smaller chips are, the more chips are produced out of one wafer.

This new development gives Samsung a head start on its rivals and industry observers said it will take two years for them to catch up.