Spansion Hopes Charge-Trapping Technology Will Improve Flash Memory
Spansion, created from a flash memory joint venture started by Advanced Micro Devices and Fujitsu, says that the “charge-trapping” technology that underlies its MirrorBit and Ornand flash chips provides a path for the industry to continue to shrink the size–and hence increase the performance–of flash chips.
Charge trapping, moreover, can be used in NOR flash chips, a smaller market historically dominated by Intel and Spansion, and NAND flash chips, found inside phones and MP3 players. Although AMD started making charge-trapping chips back in 2002, a lot of the basic technology comes from Israel’s Saifun Semiconductors, which Spansion bought in October for $328 million. If Spansion can pull this off, it could turn into a financial boost for the company, which chronically suffers financial losses.
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