A semiconductor memory development and manufacturing perspective

Semiconductor memories are growing in importance as they are now fundamental in every electronic system and offer new manufacturing and development challenges and opportunities. From a manufacturing point of view, the industry has undergone consolidation and today very few players are able to supply the high wafer volumes required by the global market. From a technology development point of view, new applications requiring lower power, higher memory density and improved performance creates opportunities for alternative memory technologies. Moreover, the shift to 3-dimensional integration and to new system architectures result in both manufacturing and technology challenges.