IN CONTEXT: Micron Technology is one of the "Big Three" companies in memory chip manufacturing alongside Samsung and SK Hynix. The US-based company is now making significant investments to expand its domestic manufacturing capabilities, starting with "advanced" DRAM products designed to serve the needs of several non-IT industries.
Micron is introducing its 1α (1-alpha) DRAM memory technology to the US, bringing "home" an advanced manufacturing process that should deliver significant improvements in industrial memory chips. The company recently announced the expansion of its Manassas, Virginia facility, where the node will be used to ramp up DDR4 wafer production.
Micron said 1-alpha DRAM is the most advanced memory technology ever manufactured in the US, although the company already uses the process elsewhere in the world. The node is built on a fourth-generation 10nm-class DRAM process, Micron explained and provides a 40% increase in memory density compared to the previous-generation 1z DRAM node.
While newer nodes such as 1β (1-beta) and 1γ (1-gamma) have already been introduced, 1-alpha is still well suited for certain memory products. Micron plans to sell the new chips to automotive manufacturers and defense and aerospace contractors, as well as industrial, networking, and medical device makers. Predictably, PC manufacturers are not included in Micron's target list and are not expected to benefit from the Manassas fab expansion.
