Hynix Semiconductor, the world's second-largest memory chipmaker after Samsung Electronics, has been going all-out to become the world's best memory semiconductor-specialized company, a top executive of the company said.
The best company does not mean the largest or the biggest but it means Hynix is able to position itself as a strong and stable company that provides long-term value for all stakeholders, and earns the trust of the markets. Hynix Semiconductor CEO Kwon Oh-chul said, "Through the best memory semiconductors and solutions, we plan to offer the best satisfaction and value to customers, greatly contributing to the country and development for the human society."
Explaining that the current IT industry is entering into an era of digital revolution following the emergence of smart digital equipment, mobile networks and advanced contents, he said, "Under these circumstances, the demands for digital equipment and services are expected to grow at a rapid pace in the future.
"In such a rapidly-changing period, the new era of memory growth is approaching, when the demands for memory products increase persistently and its importance becomes greater, whereas the increase in supply is limited owing to oligopoly, limit of technology, and demand characteristics."
CEO Kwon said, "To effectively cope with the new era of memory growth, Hynix is employing a high value added product strategy. We make efforts to enhance investment efficiency by strengthening technology power and cost competitiveness through the conversion into micro-processing, rather than the expansion in production through unreasonable investment.
"At the same time, we are maximizing profitability by improving a product portfolio to cope with gradually diversifying demands."
Hynix plans to expand the portion of 30-nanoscale DRAM products to 40 percent by the end of this year. After completing its development of the 20-nanoscale DRAM products, it also projects to mass produce the next-generation goods from early next year.
In case of NAND Flash, it plans to expand the portion of 20-nanoscale products from the present 50 percent to over 70 percent by the end of this year, and to mass-produce the next-generation 20-nano products in the fourth quarter of this year.
The high function NAND flash refers to the NAND flash equipped with the error check & correction (ECC) function and controller. This product is used for smartphones and tablet PCs.
Products to Debut in 2012
"In addition, we plan to mass produce 10-nanoscale NAND Flash in 2012. Through this ambitious project, we expect the gap between Hynix and an industry leader to fade away in terms of technology power and cost competitiveness, while expanding the gap between Hynix and latecomers," he said.
He said that Hynix is gradually expanding the portion of specialty products, including DRAM for mobile, graphic and server, coming out of the existing DRAM for PC.
Commenting that specialty DRAM is more expensive than general DRAM for PC and creates stable profits thanks to low price volatility, Kwon said, "Specialty DRAM also has a technical entry barrier so that latecomers cannot follow up easily, as it requires higher level technology power than DRAM for PC."
In 2007, the portion of specialty DRAM among the total DRAM sales reached about 40 percent. However, the comparable portion increased to 50 percent in 2009 and further to 60 percent at the end of 2010.
"At present, the comparable portion of the high value added DRAM soared to over 70 percent. We plan to keep the portion persistently in the future to effectively cope with customer demands," said Kwon.
Hynix to Participate in iSEDEX 2011
Hynix Semiconductor will participate in the International Semiconductor Exhibition (iSEDEX) 2011 to be held at KINTEX in Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province for a three-day run from Oct. 12 with its four major products.
The four items are main memory (computing memory, server memory), graphics memory, mobile memory (mobile DRAM, MCP), NAND flash (NAND flash, e-NAND, SSD) and CIS.
About 150 domestic and foreign companies from 20 countries are scheduled to attend the 13th iSEDEX 2011 and operate a total of 600 booths to introduce their new and advanced products.
The Ministry of Knowledge Economy will host the international event, which will be managed by Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), Korea Semiconductor Industry Association (KSIA) and Consortium of Semiconductor Advanced Research (COSAR).
The seven companies - Dongbu HiTek, Samsung Electronics, Amkor Technology Korea, Fairchild Korea Semiconductor, Hynix Semiconductor, Lam Research Korea, and ASML Korea - will sponsor the iSEDEX 2011, which will be supported by Semiconductor Equipment Technology Education Center(SETEC), Korea Vacuum Research Association (KOVRA) and International Microelectronics and Packaging Society (IMAPS).
Hynix will introduce unbuffered DIMM used for desktops and small outline DIMM (SO-DIMM) used for laptops to visitors at the exhibition. An unbuffered DIMM connects address and control busses directly from the module interface to the DRAM on the module. A SO-DIMM, or small outline dual in-line memory module, is a type of computer memory built using integrated circuits. SO-DIMMs are a smaller alternative to a DIMM, being roughly half the size of regular DIMMs.
It will also display such memory modules as ECC UDIMM and Registered DIMM. Hynix Semiconductor has many types of RDIMMs and ECC UDIMMs validated on the first Intel server platform that supports DDR3L (1.35V operation), called Tylersburg-EP (code-named Westmere) at the semiconductor fair.
"Along with this, we will show off graphics memory used for game consoles, a high function and high value-added product strategically developed by our company. Hynix boasts of six types of graphics memory - 2Gb, 1Gb, 512Mb, GDDR5, GDDR3, and DDR3 - which are equipped with the world's fastest speed," Kwon said.
Hynix introduced 1Gb GDDR5 product in November 2007 for the first time in the world and developed GDDR5 product that achieved the 7Gbps data transmission speed for the first time in the world in November 2009.
At the 13th iSEDEX 2011, it will introduce mobile memory products consisting of mobile DRAM and multi chip package (MCP) developed suitable for small-size portable mobile equipment.
"Mobile DRAM is designed to maximize energy efficiency by using green technology. Meanwhile, MCP, a combination of flash memory and SRAM in a single package, boasts fast processing speeds combined with low power consumption," he explained.
Hynix will display various NAND flash products, including embedded NAND (e-NAND) and solid state drive (SSD), at the exhibition. E-NAND can be used for a variety of application products, including tablet PC, smartphones, MP3 player and eBook. SSD is one of the fastest growing NAND applications, featuring high speed, reduced latency, enhanced durability compared to hard drives.
It will also introduce its CMOS Image Sensor (CIS) project at the international semiconductor fair. CIS is an imaging device that performs the role of an electronic film in digital photographing apparatus. Cost and image quality are key to success in the image sensor market. CIS, manufactured utilizing CMOS technology, offers a distinct form factor, cost, speed, and operating power advantage.
