By Kim Yoo-chul
Hynix Semiconductor said Sunday that it began production of 64-gigabit NAND flash chips by applying a finer 20-nanometer processing technology, a move that is expected to pave the way for the chipmaker to regain a competitive edge in the industry.
That is the third attempt to start the actual production, according to Hynix.
In a statement, the company said it has also developed a NAND flash solution product by teaming up with Israeli semiconductor company Anobit Technologies.
Hynix, headed by CEO Kwon Oh-chul, said the new solution is the combination of Hynix's NAND flash and controller patented by Anobit, minimizing data errors and extending the data-keeping period.
The controller is the key component for NAND-put devices. Its role is handling the stable operation of NAND flash chips, while improving the stability of the overall system of NAND flash products.
"The new flash memories have enhanced the production efficiency by 60 percent compared to those of 32-gigabit with 30-nanomoter technology," said Park Hyun, a senior Hynix spokesman.
Park said it is planning to boost the monthly product output of the advanced chips to 80,000 units by the end of this year from 45,000 units earlier this year at the company’s NAND-only 12-inch wafer manufacturing line ― M11 ― in Cheongju, a provincial city.
"The chips will be used in high-end mobile devices such as smartphones, tablet-style PCs that need big data capacity and faster processing," Park Sung-wook, executive vice president for Hynix was quoted as saying in the release.
Analysts say NAND inventories are maintaining a low level helped by soaring demand from mobile devices. In fact, the inventory to sales ratio for NAND vendors dropped to a six-year low during April-June.
"The NAND market will face shortages for the remainder of this year amid strong seasonality," according to an unnamed top-level industry executive, adding Hynix's "NAND push" looks reasonable.
The Hynix's move came at a time when an oversupply in the global DRAM chip market looks certain as top-tier vendors are fully ready to boost their production in the second half of 2010.
Hynix, is planning to upgrade its chip-making technologies.
Flash and even DRAM facilities cost too much and manufacturers are usually reluctant to spend on them unless they can see a certain demand for the capacity.
"The demand for flash chips looks stable. Rather than focusing on an external volume, Hynix plans to provide thinner technology _ and higher capacity-based chips to clients," according to the spokesman.
The semiconductor chips of today have millions of minuscule electronic circuits, which are etched into a silicon disk on a nanometer (one billionth of a meter) scale.
A smaller measurement means that the chip circuit consists of thinner electric lines, thereby having more circuits and storage in the same amount of space.
Hynix is one of them intending to migrate into thinner technologies in chip production as technological advantage allows it larger room to cut production costs in the cyclical and volatile chip industry.
Market watchers say Hynix's steady development in chip technologies will help the company accelerate procedures to find new owners as technology prowess means Hynix has more room to minimize the effects of any market downturn than its overseas peers.
Creditors of Hynix are still holding 15.9 percent of the chipmaker. When contacted by The Korea Times, the creditors declined to comment over the possible development of stake sale process.
It has been known that creditors were planning to renew the talks with ATIC, an investment arm of the government of Abu Dhabi and to contact South Korea's LG Group again with promising LG to guarantee the managerial rights by buying less than 10 percent, which is worth under 1.5 trillion won.
"I can't say anything," said one creditor source adding he is not authorized to talk with the media.