Japan

12/01/1996

Japan

Rohm Company Ltd., Kyoto, Japan, which took delivery of a Tegal 6540 HRe- ferroelectric memory etch system from Tegal Corp., Petaluma, CA, in September 1995, is now utilizing the system for production of ferroelectric memory (FRAM) devices. Rohm`s commercial FRAM products will initially consist of 16-kilobit serial memory and are based on proprietary ferroelectric technology developed by Ramtron International Corp., Colorado Springs, CO. Initial production will be 1000, 0.8-?m, 150-mm wafers/month, with Rohm planning 10,000 wafer starts/month in the near future as additional 4- to 256-kilobit serial/parallel FRAM devices are introduced.

Mitsubishi Electric Corp., in conjunction with its North American affiliate Mitsubishi Electronics America Inc., and Motorola Semiconductor Products Sector`s Imaging and Storage Division have agreed to exchange Mitsubishi`s embedded DRAM design and process technologies and M32R microprossor technology for Motorola`s ColdFire and 68EC000 microprocessor technologies. This exchange may lead to processor and DRAM memory functions on a single chip, as well as open, synthesizable embedded processor and embedded DRAM cores that can be implemented with standard hardware and software development tools.

Fujitsu, Tokyo, has secured US patents for its plasma display technology and expects to get the Japanese version patented in Japan within the year. The driver technology, called ADS ("address and display periods separated subfield"), enables the display of 256 shades of gray scale/pixel for full-color displays. The company is building a 20 billion yen ($183 million) PDP volume production plant at its wholly owned subsidiary, Fujitsu Electronics, in Miyazaki Prefecture, Kyushu. Production of 42-inch color PDPs for wall-hung home TV applications will begin this fall, initially at the rate of 10,000 plates/month. Fujitsu plans to invest another 40 billion yen ($366 million) in 1998 and to increase production to 100,000 plates/month by 2000.

In addition, Fujitsu, seeking to steal a march in the hotly competitive advanced DRAM market, will begin aggressive development of a 0.18-?m manufacturing process for its 256-Mbit DRAM generation at its fab in Mie, Japan. Details of the process technology were not immediately available, but it will presumably involve 248-nm lithography enhanced with all possible tricks. A Fujitsu spokeswoman confirmed that the move represents an acceleration of the company`s 0.18-?m time line. In addition, the computer giant will reportedly trim between 5 billion and 10 billion yen from the current fiscal year`s capital budget, but keep next year`s at the 200-billion yen level.

NEC is developing PDP sample products. The company`s Tamagawa Plant in Fuchu will develop and pilot-produce PDPs at the 1000 plates/month level. NEC also has plans to sample 42-inch PDPs for home TV application, and will begin construction of a color plasma display manufacturing plant at its subsidiary, NEC Kagoshima, Kagoshima Prefecture. The 25 billion yen ($230 million), 35,000 m2 building will have an initial capacity of 10,000 plates/month beginning in April 1998. Production will be of either 33- or 42-inch panels or both. NEC will likely increase investment 15 billion yen ($137 million). NEC expects to achieve PDP sales of 100 billion yen ($917 million), or some 40% share in the world market in the year 2000.

Hitachi established the New Display Business Promotion center in May. The PDP business has been designated as a "President`s Project," which reports directly to the company president. Hitachi is also building a PDP pilot production line in Totsuka, Yokohama, where the firm`s Consumer Electronics and Information Media Business Group is located. Engineers have joined the project from the firm`s semiconductor group, Central Research Labs, and other divisions company-wide.