Hynix Surprises NAND Chip Industry

This photo shows the industry’s first multi-chip package with 24 stacked NAND flash memory chips.

By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff Reporter

Hynix Semiconductor, the world’s third-largest NAND supplier, announced Wednesday that it has developed the industry’s first multi-chip package (MCP) with 24 stacked NAND flash memory chips, that is only 1.4 millimeters thick.

Hynix said the new technology greatly enhances memory capacity by enabling 16 gigabyte NAND flash to produce up to 384 Gbs of storage in a single consumer electronics device, enough to hold up to 25 DVD movies or some 12,000 music files.

MCP is a combination of flash memory and SRAM in a single package and used for mobile handset applications. NAND chipmakers were trying to stack up as many thin layers as they could within the 1.4-millimeter industry standard.

``With the development and diversification of mobile telecommunications, demand for large-capacity memory is increasing rapidly,’’ an official from the supplier said, adding the company aims to develop an MCP with 28 stacked NAND chips in the coming years.

However, the official declined to specify the year of the debut of the next upgraded MCP.

Market observers say the MCP market is one of the most delicate sectors in semiconductor technology. It requires a combination of key processes such as wafer thinning, redistribution layer, chip sawing and wire bonding technologies.

Hynix entered the MCP market in 2001 to capitalize on the synergies from its flash and SRAM products.

Industry sources said demand for NAND, widely used for data storage in portable electronics, is expected to grow by an average of more than 120 percent a year over the next three years on the back of stabilizing prices and increased use of flash memories.

Hynix has been shifting its dynamic random access memory (DRAM) lines to NAND production through a joint venture with Micron Technology and Intel Corp.

Samsung Electronics recently developed a new NAND flash software, enabling Samsung’s 16 Gbs NAND flash to be easily adapted to mobile applications with large storage needs.

Toshiba, the world’s second-biggest maker of NAND flash memory, Tuesday unveiled a plan to increase its NAND capacity in its new plant in western Japan to meet demand for portable electronics.

Samsung held 45.9 percent of the global NAND market in the April-June period versus Toshiba’s 27.5 percent, according to U.S. research firm iSuppli.

yckim@koreatimes.co.kr