SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA: Intel Corporation and Micron Technology Incorporated are making efforts to regain the lead in the field of NAND process technology.
Micron Technology, the memory-chip vendor, has announced that it will soon sample a 2x-nm NAND device, but did not specify the exact node.
Micron Technology and its NAND partner Intel Corporation are expected to introduce a 2x-nm NAND device in 2010, which would help both companies overtake Toshiba and Samsung.
Intel Corporation and Micron Technology are partners in a joint NAND venture called IM Flash Technologies LLC.
Micron Technology and Intel are both selling solid-state disk (SSD) products, which are based on NAND. While Intel Corporation is dong well in the SSD market, Micron Technology is struggling in the field, according to analysts.
Meanwhile, Micron Technology has posted its first profit in 3 years during the period ended December 3, 2009 – with sales worth $1.74 billion. The company's NAND business went up by 21 per cent in the quarter, and the DRAM business leaped by as much as 50 per cent during the period.
Intel Corporation and Micron Technology together have been leading in the area of NAND process technology, and shipping product based on a 34-nm process.
It was in April 2009 that Toshiba Corporation, based in Japan, took away the lead from the Intel-Micron combine in the NAND process technology race.