TV Tokyo recently reported that US memory maker Micron will start manufacturing advanced DRAM products in Japan.
According to the report, Manish Bhatia, executive vice president of Micron, first revealed in an exclusive interview that the company plans to use a plant in Hiroshima, Japan, to manufacture DRAM products using process 1 in the second half of this year.
Micron plans to invest $150 billion globally over the next decade. As for details such as the scale of production at the Hiroshima plant in Japan, Bhatia said that relevant details are to be agreed upon when funding is expected to be received from the Japanese government in the future.
The Hiroshima plant was reportedly acquired by Micron Japan when it bought Elpida in 2013, and the company has been actively investing in it since then. The Hiroshima plant currently has no space to accommodate additional fabs.
In October 2021, Micron announced that it would build a new factory next to its existing facility in Hiroshima, Japan, with a total investment of about 800 billion yen. According to local Japanese media outlet Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun, the new plant will be operational in 2024 and will mainly produce DRAM chips widely used in data centers, and the Japanese government may provide some assistance in the form of subsidies.
As a world-renowned DRAM manufacturer, Micron has released 1 DRAM product. At an investor day held in May this year, Micron revealed its future technology roadmap for DRAM.
According to the latest roadmap, Micron will continue to develop 1, 1 and 1 processes in DRAM. By the end of 2022, the company plans to release DRAM 1 products that will provide good performance in graphics, HBM3, automotive and other areas. With DRAM 1 products, Micron hopes to continuously improve the company’s position in DDR5 and LPDDR5.
