Hynix first to announce 1-gigabit memory chip

Hynix Semiconductor Inc. said yesterday it had developed a new, high-speed and high-capacity memory chip, the first of its kind in the world. Commercial production of the new chip will begin next year, the company said. The chip has a memory capacity of one gigabit. The most popular chips used for computer memory currently have a capacity of 256 or 512 megabits, the latter about half the new chip’s storage space. The new chips, an improvement on double-data-rate chips, today’s fastest chips in common use, also process memory operations faster than their predecessors; they operate at a speed of 500 megahertz and up. Hynix said the new chip operates at a speed of 533 megahertz and will be able to process information twice as fast as some commonly used chips today. Industry analysts say Hynix has a lead on its rivals in the development of the 1-gigabit DDR2 DRAM chips of three to six months. Hynix said it will use a 0.11-micron process technology for the new chip. That number ― one micron is a millionth of a meter ― is a measure of the width of the circuit wires etched onto the chip. Smaller wiring means an increase in the number of components that can be fit onto a chip. The production of the new chips is timed in conjunction with the introduction by Intel Corp. of a set of computer chips to support the faster speed and higher capacity. Intel is expected to go into production only early next year, which means that rival chipmakers could have some time to catch up with Hynix’s breakthrough. by Limb Jae-un