Samsung takes biggest DRAM fab in operation

Samsung takes biggest DRAM fab in operation

Samsung has long been the world leader in both (DDR) SDRAM memory chips
as well as NAND flash. Now the Korean company is expanding its
production capacity with the "Line-16" in Hwaseong, south of Seoul,
continues. Since August, the production of DDR3-SDRAM runs with feature
sizes of the "20-nanometer-class", while the production of NAND flash
chips powering up. Up to 10,000 wafers per month to account for the
non-volatile flash memory that stuck in tablets, smartphones,
Solid-state disks, USB flash drives and memory cards.

The planned production capacity of the twelve-story and the equivalent
of around 7.6 billion-euro plant will be expanded over time to a maximum
of 200,000 (300 millimeter) wafers per month. Newer DRAM fabs of the
Japanese competitors in Hiroshima Elpida handle more than 50,000 wafers
a month.

Samsung will begin by year end with the production of 4-gigabit chips,
the 20-nanometer-class. Elpida also announced, the development of 4-Gbit
chips with 25-nanometer structures have been completed. From 4-gigabit
chips can be constructed unbuffered (U), DIMMs and SO-DIMMs up to 8 GB
capacity and RDIMMs QR or LR-DIMMs with up to 32 GB.