Micron Technology, Inc. today announced that it has begun sampling the industry's first automotive low-power DDR5 DRAM (LPDDR5) memory that is hardware-evaluated to meet the most stringent Automotive Safety Integrity Level (ASIL), ASIL D. The solution is part of Micron's new portfolio of memory and storage products targeted for automotive functional safety based on the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 26262 standard.

Micron's functional safety-evaluated DRAM is compatible with advanced-driver assistance system (ADAS) technologies, including adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking systems, lane departure warning and blind spot detection systems. Micron's LPDDR5's high performance, superior power efficiency and low latency provide the requisite performance and headroom to keep pace with increasing bandwidth requirements of next-generation automotive systems.

"Autonomous vehicles promise to make our roads safer, but they need powerful, trusted memory that can enable real-time decision-making in extreme environments," said Kris Baxter, corporate vice president and general manager of Micron's Embedded Business Unit. "To fulfill this growing market need, we've optimized our automotive LPDDR5 to deliver the utmost performance, quality and reliability for the smart, safe cars of tomorrow."

Driven by such factors as the continued development of autonomous driving technologies and the build-out of 5G infrastructure, the demand for automotive memories will undergo a rapid growth going forward, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. Take Tesla, which is the automotive industry leader in the application of autonomous vehicle technologies, as an example. Tesla has adopted GDDR5 DRAM products from the Model S and X onward because it has also adopted Nvidia's solutions for CPU and GPU. The GDDR5 series had the highest bandwidth at the time to complement these processors. The DRAM content has therefore reached at least 8 GB for vehicles across all model series under Tesla. The Model 3 is further equipped with 14 GB of DRAM, and the next-generation of Tesla vehicles will have 20 GB. If content per box is used as a reference for comparison, then Tesla far surpasses manufacturers of PCs and smartphones in DRAM consumption. TrendForce forecasts that the average DRAM content of cars will continue to grow in the next three years, with a CAGR of more than 30% for the period.

NAND Flash demand continues to rise as strong sales of notebook (laptop) computers spur PC OEMs to place additional orders for client SSDs, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. Also, the supply-side inventory for NAND Flash memory has already fallen considerably due to the aggressive stock-up activities of some smartphone brands. With customers in the data center segment expected to ramp up procurement in 2Q21, NAND Flash suppliers have decided to scale back the supply of NAND Flash wafers. Compared with other product categories, wafers have a lower gross margin. As a result of these factors, the decline in contract prices of wafers has been easing over the past two months (i.e., from December of last year to January of this year).

Yes, you are reading that title correctly. Today we got ahold of information that DDR3 prices are going to skyrocket by as much as 40-50% this year! Despite DDR4 being present for seven years (since 2014), which is a lot in the world of tech, DDR3 is still thriving. Used in a wide range of devices like IoT, older servers, and long time running machines that need maintenance for decades. The DDR3 has been manufactured by SK Hynix, Samsung, and Micron, however, as technology moved on, these companies began the migration to the newer DDR4 standard. Even DDR5 exists today and it is currently manufactured.

So why is DDR3 soaring in value? It is because of the increased scarcity of this memory. SK Hynix has stopped the production of 2 Gb modules, leaving only the 4 Gb modules in production. Samsung has cut down the capacity from 60,000 wafers of DDR3 memory modules per month to just 20,000. This has caused the price of 2 Gb and 4 Gb modules to rise already as much as 30%. Despite the age of 14 years, DDR3 is still widely used in many systems. And because of that, the scarcity is making the price of the current memory increase. The price is expected to rise through the whole year and it could reach a 50% increase.

Micron Technology, Inc., today announced volume shipment of 1α (1-alpha) node DRAM products built using the world's most advanced DRAM process technology and offering major improvements in bit density, power and performance. This milestone reinforces Micron's competitive strength and complements its recent breakthroughs with the world's fastest graphics memory and the first-to-ship 176-layer NAND.

"This 1α node achievement confirms Micron's excellence in DRAM and is a direct result of Micron's relentless commitment to cutting-edge design and technology," said Scott DeBoer, executive vice president of technology and products at Micron. "With a 40% improvement in memory density over our previous 1z DRAM node, this advancement will create a solid foundation for future product and memory innovation."

Micron plans to integrate the 1α node across its DRAM product portfolio this year to support all environments that use DRAM today. The applications for this new DRAM technology are extensive and far reaching—enhancing performance in everything from mobile devices to smart vehicles.

PC enthusiast VIK-on pulled off a sophisticated memory mod for the GeForce RTX 2070, doubling its memory amount to 16 GB. In a detailed video presentation (linked below), VIK-on demonstrated how he carefully removed the 8 Gb Micron-made GDDR6 memory chips of his card, with 16 Gb Samsung-made chips he bought off AliExpress for $200. Memory replacement mods are extremely difficult to pull off, as you first de-solder the existing chips using a hot air gun while keeping the contacts on the PCB intact (ensuring no pins short); and solder the replacement BGA memory chips in place.

In addition, a set of "jumpers" on the PCB need to be modified to make it recognize the Samsung memory. The resulting card booted to desktop successfully, with GPU-Z reading its full 16 GB memory size. The card successfully made it through 3DMark TimeSpy, albeit with 30% lower performance than a normal RTX 2070 (6176 points vs. ~9107 points). The card would also crash Furmark. Still, it's mighty impressive that the "TU106" recognizes 16 GB of addressable memory (which means all its memory channels are intact), without the need for any BIOS mods, which is impossible to pull off.Watch the VIK-on video presentation here.

Research and development spending by semiconductor companies worldwide is forecast to grow 4% in 2021 to $71.4 billion after rising 5% in 2020 to a record high of $68.4 billion, according to IC Insights' new 2021 edition of The McClean Report—A Complete Analysis and Forecast of the Integrated Circuit Industry. Total R&D spending by semiconductor companies is expected to rise by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.8% between 2021 and 2025 to $89.3 billion.

When the world was hit by the Covid-19 virus health crisis in 2020, wary semiconductor suppliers kept a lid on R&D spending increases, even though total semiconductor industry revenue grew by a surprising 8% in the year despite the economic fallout from the deadly pandemic. Semiconductor R&D expenditures as a percentage of worldwide industry sales slipped to 14.2% in 2020 compared to 14.6% in 2019, when research and development spending declined 1% and total semiconductor revenue fell 12%. Figure 1 plots semiconductor R&D spending levels and the spending-to-sales ratios over the past two decades and IC Insights' forecast through 2025.

Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MU) today announced results for its first quarter of fiscal 2021, which ended Dec. 3, 2020. "Micron delivered outstanding fiscal first quarter results, driven by focused execution and strong end-market demand," said Micron Technology President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra. "We are excited about the strengthening DRAM industry fundamentals. For the first time in our history, Micron is simultaneously leading on DRAM and NAND technologies, and we are in an excellent position to benefit from accelerating digital transformation of the global economy fueled by AI, 5G, cloud, and the intelligent edge."

The DRAM market exhibits a healthier and more balanced supply/demand relationship compared with the NAND Flash market because of its oligopolistic structure, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. The percentage distribution of DRAM supply bits by application currently shows that PC DRAM accounts for 13%, server DRAM 34%, mobile DRAM 40%, graphics DRAM 5%, and consumer DRAM (or specialty DRAM) 8%. Looking ahead to 1Q21, the DRAM market by then will have gone through an inventory adjustment period of slightly more than two quarters. Memory buyers will also be more willing to stock up because they want to reduce the risk of future price hikes. Therefore, DRAM prices on the whole will be constrained from falling further. The overall ASP of DRAM products is now forecasted to stay generally flat or slightly up for 1Q21.

Semiconductor manufacturing is a risky business. Not only is it heavily capital-intensive, which means that even some state-backed would-be players can fail in pooling together the required resources for an industry break-in; but the entire nature of the manufacturing process is a delicate balance of materials, nearly-endless fabrication, cleanup, and QA testing. Wafer manufacturing can take months between the initial fabrication stages through to the final packaging process; and this means that power outages or material contamination can jeopardize an outrageous number of in-fabrication semiconductors.

Recent news as covered by DigiTimes place one of Micron's fabrication plants in Taiwan as being hit with a 1-hour long power outage, which can potentially affect 10% of the entire predictable DRAM supply for the coming months (a power outage affects every step of the manufacturing process). Considering the increased demand for DRAM components due to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated demand for DRAM-inside products such as PCs, DIY DRAM, laptops, and tablets, industry players are now expecting a price hike for DRAM throughout 2021 until this sudden supply constraint is dealt with. As we know, DRAM manufacturers and resellers are a fickle bunch when it comes to increasing prices in even the slightest, dream-like hint of reduced supply. It remains to be seen how much of this 10% DRAM supply is actually salvageable, but projecting from past experience, a price hike seems to be all but guaranteed.

Total NAND Flash revenue reached US$14.5 billion in 3Q20, a 0.3% increase QoQ, while total NAND Flash bit shipment rose by 9% QoQ, but the ASP fell by 9% QoQ, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. The market situation in 3Q20 can be attributed to the rising demand from the consumer electronics end as well as the recovering smartphone demand before the year-end peak sales season. Notably, in the PC market, the rise of distance education contributed to the growing number and scale of Chromebook tenders, but the increase in the demand for Chromebook devices has not led to a significant increase in NAND Flash consumption because storage capacity is rather limited for this kind of notebook computer. Moreover, clients in the server and data center segments had aggressively stocked up on components and server barebones during 2Q20 due to worries about the impact of the pandemic on the supply chain. Hence, their inventories reached a fairly high level by 3Q20. Clients are now under pressure to control and reduce their inventories during this second half of the year. With them scaling back procurement, the overall NAND Flash demand has also weakened, leading to a downward turn in the contract prices of most NAND Flash products.

Micron today announced that it has begun volume shipments of the world's first 176-layer 3D NAND flash memory, achieving unprecedented, industry-pioneering density and performance. Together, Micron's new 176-layer technology and advanced architecture represent a radical breakthrough, enabling immense gains in application performance across a range of storage use cases spanning data center, intelligent edge and mobile devices.

"Micron's 176-layer NAND sets a new bar for the industry, with a layer count that is almost 40% higher than our nearest competitor's," said Scott DeBoer, executive vice president of technology and products at Micron. "Combined with Micron's CMOS-under-array architecture, this technology sustains Micron's industry cost leadership."

Taiwanese corporation United Micro Electronics (UMC) has pled guilty on charges of trade theft. The charges, originally pressed in November 2018 by US authorities, placed UMC and China's Fujian Jinhua in hot waters under suspicion of stealing trade secrets from US-based Micron technologies, one of the world's foremost players in memory semiconductor technologies. UMC's guilty plea serves as a way for the company to avoid heavier penalties, and includes a provision for the company's assistance in investigating Fujian Jinhua's actions in regards to this IP theft.

The whole story revolves around UMC's hiring of three Micron employees from Micron's subsidiary in Taiwan, Micron Memory Taiwan (MMT), back around September 2015. At least two of these employees migrated Micron trade secrets to UMC, which then inked a deal with china's Fujian Jinhua for the development of 32nm DRAM and "32Snm" DRAM technologies that Fujian Jinhua could then deploy for the manufacture of memory products - a deal which had Fujian Jinhua paying $300 million for equipment purchase plus $400 million for technology development to UMC. This all fell in line with the Chinese government's Made in China 2025 plan, which aims to bring the country to semiconductor independence from the western world. UMC says that the company itself didn't partake in the underhanded IP delivery to Fujian Jinhua, claiming instead that rogue employees did so of their own volition. The company further states that it only pleads guilty because according to the US Trade Secrets Act, the company still bears legal responsibilities for employee acts, whether or not top management is involved.

Micron Technology, Inc., today announced the launch of uMCP5, the industry's first universal flash storage (UFS) multichip package with low-power DDR5 (LPDDR5) DRAM. Now ready for mass production, Micron's uMCP5 combines high-performance, high-density and low-power memory and storage in one compact package, equipping smartphones to handle data-intensive 5G workloads with dramatically increased speed and power efficiency. The multichip package uses Micron's LPDDR5 memory, high-reliability NAND and leading-edge UFS 3.1 controller to power advanced mobile features previously only seen in costly flagship devices using discrete products, such as stand-alone memory and storage. Now available on other high-end phones, these emerging technologies—such as image recognition, advanced artificial intelligence (AI), multicamera support, augmented reality (AR) and high-resolution displays—are becoming accessible to more consumers.

"Moving 5G's potential from hype to reality will require smartphones that can support the immense volumes of data flowing through the network and next-gen applications," said Raj Talluri, senior vice president and general manager of Micron's Mobile Business Unit. "Our uMCP5 combines the fastest memory and storage in a single package, unleashing new possibilities for 5G's disruptive, data-rich technologies right at consumers' fingertips."

Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MU) announced results for its fourth quarter and full year of fiscal 2020, which ended Sept. 3, 2020. "Micron delivered solid fiscal fourth quarter revenue and EPS resulting from strong DRAM sales in cloud, PC and gaming consoles and an extraordinary increase in QLC NAND shipments," said Micron Technology President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra. "We look forward to improving market conditions throughout calendar 2021, driven by 5G, cloud and automotive growth, and we are excited by the continued momentum in our product portfolio."

Investments in capital expenditures, net were $2.16 billion for the fourth quarter of 2020 and $7.95 billion for the full year of 2020, which resulted in adjusted free cash flows of $111 million for the fourth quarter of 2020 and $361 million for the full year of 2020. Micron repurchased approximately 824,000 shares of its common stock for $41 million during the fourth quarter of 2020 and 3.6 million shares of its common stock for $176 million during the full year of 2020 and ended the year with cash, marketable investments, and restricted cash of $9.26 billion, for a net cash position of $2.61 billion.

When NVIDIA announced its next-generation GeForce RTX 3080 and 3090 Ampere GPUs, it specified that the memory found in the new GPUs will be Micron's GDDR6X variant with 19 Gbps speed. However, being that there are faster GDDR6X modules already available in a 21 Gbps variant, everyone was left wondering why NVIDIA didn't just use the faster memory from Micron. That is exactly what Igor's Lab, a technology website, has been wondering as well. They have decided to conduct testing with an infrared camera that measures the heat produced. To check out the full testing setup and how they tested everything, you can go here and read it, including watching the video embedded.

Micron chips like GDDR5, GDDR5X, and GDDR6 are rated for the maximum junction temperature (TJ Max) of 100 degrees Celsius. It is recommended that these chips should run anywhere from 0C to 95C for the best results. However, when it comes to the new GDDR6X modules found in the new graphics cards, they are not yet any official specifications available to the public. Igor's Lab estimates that they can reach 120C before they become damaged, meaning that TJ Max should be 110C or 105C. When measuring the temperature of GDDR6X modules, Igor found out that the hottest chip ran at 104C, meaning that the chips are running pretty close to the TJ Max they are (supposedly) specified. It is NVIDIA's PCB design decisions that are leading up to this, as the hottest chips are running next to voltage regulators, which can get pretty hot on their own.

Social media is abuzz with a screengrab of a regional webpage of the NVIDIA website purporting a "GeForce RTX 3090 CEO Edition" graphics card. Positioned a notch above the "Founders Edition," this $3,499 card, if even remotely real, could be a limited edition product. The screengrab references "48 GB of G6X" memory. We're not sure how this is even possible. The RTX 3090 already uses 8 Gbit GDDR6X chips, piggybacking two chips per 32-bit memory channel, unless Micron has done the unthinkable by launching a 16 Gbit G6X chip within 2020. Frankly, we're very interested to see how the next-gen Quadro RTX even achieves its alleged 48 GB of GDDR6.

That aside, the alloy frame now comes with a gold finish. We wonder if memory and a fancy trim is all that NVIDIA is asking the extra 2 Grand for, or if it even maxed out the "GA102" ASIC (there are two more TPCs left to unlock). As for the name "CEO Edition," there have been instances of tech CEOs flexing their vanity on limited edition products. Limited edition Ryzen and Radeon products, for example, bear the AMD CEO's signature. So the name "CEO Edition" by itself isn't implausible. Just not with these specs, and not this price.

Crucial, Micron's global consumer brand of computer memory and storage, today announced its limited edition Crucial Ballistix MAX 5100 gaming DRAM. Expanding on the award-winning legacy of the Crucial Ballistix product portfolio, this latest offering provides consumers with an optimal gaming memory option, boasting the highest speeds available to date for purchase.

Crucial Ballistix is the only brand of gaming DRAM that incorporates custom tuning at the die level, resulting in world record-setting performance. In fact, these same gaming DRAM modules were recently used by a competitive overclocker to hit a blistering 6,666MT/s, the fastest ever for DDR4 modules. The record-breaking frequency and valid CPU-Z screenshot are posted on HWBOT. Like Micron's leading products and solutions for enterprise and personal computing, Crucial gaming memory is purpose-built, making it the only gaming memory that's vertically integrated - designed, engineered and manufactured from start to finish in-house. This unique approach is unmatched by competitors, allowing the new 5100MT/s modules to deliver blazing fast speeds to hardcore gamers and maximized results to overclocking enthusiasts.

NVIDIA's upcoming GeForce RTX 3070 performance segment graphics card uses 14 Gbps GDDR6 memory speed, according to the product page of the ZOTAC RTX 3070 Twin Edge (model: ZT-A30700E-10P), and the RTX 3070 DUAL by ASUS. This settles speculation around NVIDIA using the fastest available 16 Gbps GDDR6 memory for the RTX 3070. The company is using the even faster 19.5 Gbps and 19 Gbps GDDR6X memory for the RTX 3090 and RTX 3080, which it co-developed with Micron Technology. The use of 14 Gbps GDDR6 across a 256-bit wide memory bus gives the RTX 3070 the same 448 GB/s memory bandwidth as the RTX 2070. NVIDIA plans to launch the GeForce RTX 3070 some time in October, with prices starting at USD $499.

Micron Technology, Inc., today announced the world's fastest discrete graphics memory solution, GDDR6X, the first to power system bandwidth up to 1 terabyte per second (TB/s). Working with visual computing technology leader NVIDIA, Micron debuted GDDR6X in the new NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 and GeForce RTX 3080 graphics processing units (GPUs), which are tailored to support the fast speeds that immersive, high-performance gaming applications demand.

"Our multilevel signaling innovation in GDDR6X has shattered conventional bandwidth limits, clocking record-breaking speeds," said Tom Eby, senior vice president and general manager of the Compute & Networking Business Unit at Micron. "Unlike traditional memory, GDDR6X has unparalleled data rates that can keep pace with gaming innovation and data-hungry applications - setting a new standard for graphics memory."

The NAND Flash industry benefitted from strong demand for PCs and servers in 2Q20 as the COVID-19 pandemic caused a demand surge for cloud services and technologies that are related to working from home, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. This, in turn, kept demand high for SSDs. However, the smartphone and consumer electronics markets had not recovered from the impact of the pandemic. The demand for these products therefore declined compared to the previous quarter. In 2Q20, total NAND Flash bit shipment and ASP both experienced a minor increase of about 3% QoQ, while NAND Flash revenue reached US$14.5 billion, a 6.5% increase QoQ.

Crucial, Micron's global consumer brand of memory and storage, today announced the new Crucial X6 portable solid-state drive (SSD). This new transportable, ultra-sleek drive expands the company's award-winning SSD portfolio and offers more value, capacity and performance options, making it perfect for customers who require instant access to all their digital content.

"The need for flexible access to digital content is essential right now - and the Crucial X6 and X8 portable SSDs bring Micron's unparalleled quality in storage technology directly to customers' fingertips," said Teresa Kelley, vice president and general manager of Micron's Consumer Products Group. "Whether working remotely, staying home with family, preparing for a virtual class, or getting out for an adventure, storing and accessing digital files has never been easier - even without an internet connection or access to the cloud."

The last cyclical upturn in DRAM contract prices began at the start of 2020 and was led by server DRAM, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. In 2Q20, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic shocked the global economy, but OEMs maintained or even stepped up procurement of components because they feared disruptions in the supply chain. As a result, DRAM suppliers' bit shipments surpassed expectations for the quarter, in turn widening the overall increase in DRAM ASP and raising the global DRAM revenue by 15.4% QoQ in 2Q20 to US$17.1 billion.

Nevertheless, TrendForce indicates that server OEMs are now carrying a rather high level of DRAM inventory after aggressively stocking up for two consecutive quarters. At the same time, customers of enterprise servers are holding back on procurement because the economic outlook is getting bleaker and more uncertain. Since server DRAM has the unique role of leading cyclical changes, this category is going to be first to experience price drop in the next downturn and thereby pull prices down for other types of DRAM products. As such, TrendForce forecasts at best a flattening of product shipments and decrease in DRAM prices in 3Q20, with DRAM suppliers suffering a decline in profitability.

Continuing from the Micron tech brief we shared earlier, a new interesting prospect for the future of ultra-bandwidth solutions is being called simply HBMnext. It's very likely this is only a working title for a next generation HBM memory interface, whether it is a mere evolution of HBM2E or HBM3 proper. The jump in memory speed from HBM2E to HBMnext is still under wraps; however, we've seen HBM2E take significant strides compared to HBM2 already. The first HBM2E products arrived with a 0.4 Gbps improvement over HBM2 (2.4 Gbps vs 2.0 Gbps), but HBM2E has already been certified - and is announced by Micron - as hitting 3.2 Gbps as soon as the second half of this year. One can expect HBMnext to take somewhat comparable strides. Users shouldn't expect to see HBMnext on any products soon, though; it's only expected to launch come 2022.

Micron Technology, Inc., today announced a comprehensive enablement program which will provide early access to technical resources, products and ecosystem partners. The Technology Enablement Program will aid in the design, development and qualification of next-generation computing platforms that use DDR5, the most technologically advanced DRAM available.

Today's news builds on Micron's January announcement of DDR5 RDIMM samples and brings the industry one step closer to unlocking the value in next-generation, data-centric applications. Companies joining Micron in the DDR5 Technology Enablement Program include Cadence, Montage, Rambus, Renesas and Synopsys.