Samsung, Toshiba Agree to License NAND Technology

Samsung Electronics, the world’s biggest manufacturer of NAND flash memory chips, said Monday it has struck a deal with runner-up Toshiba to license its NAND flash memory chip technology.Under the deal, Samsung will give specifications of its integrated OneNAND and Flex-OneNAND chips to the Japanese manufacturer in exchange for Toshiba's single-package LBA-NAND and mobileLBA-NAND chips. Also, companies engaging in original equipment manufacturing (OEM) will have the choice to supply Samsung’s OneNAND or Toshiba’s LBA-NAND chips.``Suppliers will reduce potential risks of over-dependence on a single supplier for any of the selected chips,’’ a Samsung spokesperson said.The deal could boost the demand for high-end chips, increasing the portion of the fusion memory chip market, which is forecast to soar to $5 billion by 2010 from an expected $800 million in 2008. ``Samsung and Toshiba secured an additional priority on meeting the anticipated growth in demand for high-performance NAND flash in mobile and other consumer applications,’’ said Choi Yun-ho, senior vice president of the Flash Team at Samsung Electronics’ Semiconductor Business. ``We will release products based on the licensed specifications from 2008.’’ NAND flash chips are commonly used in pricey electronics gadgets such as car navigation systems, camera phones, MP3 players and other multimedia players.According to iSuppli, a market research firm, Samsung Electronics and Toshiba led the market with a share of 40.0 percent and 25.7 percent, respectively, in the third quarter, while Hynix Semiconductor ranked third with 20.5 percent.
Source: koreatimes.co.kr