BOISE, Idaho--Micron Technology Inc. here today (April 4) said it would steadily increase production of double data rate SDRAMs during 2001 and push DDR memory volumes to about 30% of the company's total DRAM capacity in the fourth quarter of this year.
Micron--an advocate of DDR synchronous DRAMs, as opposed to the rival Rambus format--maintains that DDR chip demand is now surging. The company said it is currently offering DDR SDRAM products at "near price parity" with mainstream SDRAMs.
"Current customer projections indicate demand for DDR SDRAM will continue to accelerate throughout 2001 and beyond," said Jeff Mailloux, director of Micron's Marketing, Computing and Consumer Group in Boise. "With customers in desktop and portable computing, server, graphics, networking and consumer segments choosing it for their products, DDR SDRAM appears to be the next high-volume architecture."
In addition to fighting the Rambus DRAM architecture in the marketplace, Micron is locked in a legal battle with Rambus Inc. over patent rights to high-speed interface technologies for synchronous DRAMs and DDR memories. The Boise-based memory maker maintains that the DDR SDRAM is an evolutionary technology, developed as an industry standard by a wide range of companies, unlike the Direct Rambus format, which is backed by Intel Corp. and licensed by Rambus in Los Altos, Calif.
According to Semico Research Corp., worldwide DDR SDRAM unit sales are expected to reach 400 million in 2001 and grow to about 808 million units in 2002.
"With multiple PC chip sets and non-PC applications being introduced this year, the production ramp for DDR SDRAM is accelerating," said analyst Sherry Garber, senior vice president at Semico in Phoenix. "Semico anticipates steady demand growth throughout the next five years," she added.
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