NEC Decides Market Is Not &nReady for 256 Mbit DRAMs
Staff -- Semiconductor International, 6/1/1999
The
Japanese NEC company has decided against upgrading production to 256 Mbit DRAM
devices at its Livingston, Scotland facility. NEC Japan recently announced a
$57M investment in this fab for the introduction of the latest 64 Mbit SDRAM
and 128 Mbit Drambus devices.
The company said the market is not yet ready for such an upgrade and customers
want more memory space, but the personal computer market is becoming increasingly
price sensitive and it does not feel manufacturers are willing to accept the
extra cost of 256 Mbit products. It sees the 128 Mbit as the optimum medium-term
solution. The 256 Mbit product is unlikely to enter volume production before
next year. 
