Micron unveils latest DRam device

Micron is hoping to shake things up in the troubled DRam market over the coming months with the release of what it claims is the world's smallest 1GB DD2 DRam device for laptops, PCs and servers.

The device was fabricated on a 68-nanometer (nm) DRam production process, has a 56mm die and will go into mass production in the first of quarter 2008. The 68nm process allows for smaller and more efficient DRam devices. Micron claimed the product will consume 20 per cent less power than existing devices.
Forthcoming dual data rate 3 (DDR3) products developed on the 68nm process will enable data transfer rates of up to 1600 megabits per second (Mbit/s). Micron said that the DDR3 products will join its Aspen Memory family of energy-efficient products, designed for energy-conscious data servers and notebooks.
Brian Shirley, vice president of Micron’s memory group, said: “Micron continues leading the world in development of advanced memory technology. Our 68nm process technology offers our customers best-
in-class die sizes, power and speed benefits for their most demanding applications.”
In related DRam news, Kingston Technology is celebrating breaking the $1bn (£491m) marker for EMEA sales in 2007, up 22 per cent on 2006.
Kingston attributed much of the growth to the explosion in demand for Flash memory and also certain, fast-growing Middle East and Africa markets, which accounted for $65.5m sales, an increase of 40 per cent year on year.
Antoine Harb, business development manager for Kingston, Middle East and Africa, said: “We
are delighted to have broken the US$1bn mark. The Middle East and Africa’s memory market is growing at an extremely fast rate when compared to other semiconductors.
“Much of this growth can be attributed to the extreme use of flash memory in portable media players, and the growth of the cellular phone market, where more than one billion handsets are expected to be sold worldwide this year alone, as well as other electronic devices.”
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