Micron Memory Japan, K.K. is a Japanese subsidiary of
Micron Technology. It was formerly known as established in 1999 that developed, designed, manufactured and sold
dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) products. It was also a
semiconductor foundry
In the microelectronics industry, a semiconductor fabrication plant (commonly called a fab; sometimes foundry) is a factory where devices such as integrated circuits are manufactured.
Fabs require many expensive devices to function. Estimates ...
. With headquarters in
Yaesu, Chūō, Tokyo, Japan, it was initially formed under the name NEC Hitachi Memory in 1999 by the merger of the
Hitachi and
NEC
is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. The company was known as the Nippon Electric Company, Limited, before rebranding in 1983 as NEC. It provides IT and network soluti ...
DRAM businesses. In the following year it took on the name Elpida. In 2003, Elpida took over the
Mitsubishi DRAM business. In 2004, it listed its shares in the first section of the
Tokyo Stock Exchange
The , abbreviated as Tosho () or TSE/TYO, is a stock exchange located in Tokyo, Japan. It is the third largest stock exchange in the world by aggregate market capitalization of its listed companies, and the largest in Asia. It had 2,292 listed ...
. In 2012, those shares were delisted as a result of its bankruptcy. In 2013, Elpida was acquired by Micron Technology. On February 28, 2014, Elpida changed its name to Micron Memory Japan and Elpida Akita changed its name to Micron Akita, Inc.
History
Elpida Memory was founded in 1999 as a merger of NEC's and Hitachi's DRAM operations and began development operations for DRAM products in 2000. Both companies also spun off their other semiconductor operations into
Renesas
is a Japanese semiconductor manufacturer headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, initially incorporated in 2002 as Renesas Technology, the consolidated entity of the semiconductor units of Hitachi and Mitsubishi excluding their dynamic random-access memo ...
.
In 2001, the company began construction of its 300mm wafer fabrication plant. Later that year, it began sales operations in domestic markets.
In 2003, the company took over
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation's
DRAM operations and employed Mitsubishi development engineers.
In 2004, Elpida Memory went public and was listed on the
Tokyo Stock Exchange
The , abbreviated as Tosho () or TSE/TYO, is a stock exchange located in Tokyo, Japan. It is the third largest stock exchange in the world by aggregate market capitalization of its listed companies, and the largest in Asia. It had 2,292 listed ...
.
In 2006, the company established Akita Elpida to take on the development of advanced back-end technology processes.
In March 2006, Elpida reported consolidated sales of 241,500,000,000
Japanese yen. It employed 3196 people.
In 2002, armed with the
Sherman Antitrust Act
The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 (, ) is a United States antitrust law which prescribes the rule of free competition among those engaged in commerce. It was passed by Congress and is named for Senator John Sherman, its principal author.
...
, the United States Department of Justice began a probe into the activities of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) manufacturers. US computer makers, including Dell and Gateway, claimed that inflated DRAM pricing was causing lost profits and hindering their effectiveness in the marketplace. To date, five manufacturers have pleaded guilty to their involvement in an
international price-fixing conspiracy including
Hynix
SK hynix Inc. is a South Korean supplier of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chips and flash memory chips. Hynix is the world's second-largest memory chipmaker (after Samsung Electronics) and the world's third-largest semiconductor company. ...
,
Infineon
Infineon Technologies AG is a German semiconductor manufacturer founded in 1999, when the semiconductor operations of the former parent company Siemens AG were spun off. Infineon has about 50,280 employees and is one of the ten largest semicond ...
,
Micron Technology,
Samsung
The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
, and Elpida. Micron Technology was not fined for its involvement due to co-operation with investigators.
The company received 140 billion yen in financial aid and loans from the Japanese government and banks during the financial crisis in 2009.
[
On April 3, 2010, Elpida Memory sold ¥18.5billion worth of shares to ]Kingston Technology
Kingston Technology Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that develops, manufactures, sells and supports flash memory products, other computer-related memory products, as well as the HyperX gaming division ...
On April 22, 2010, Elpida announced it had developed the world's first four-gigabit DDR3 SDRAM. Based on a 40 nm process, this DRAM was said to use about thirty percent less power compared to two 40 nm process two-gigabit DDR3 SDRAMs. It was to operate at both standard DDR3 1.5 V and 1.35 V to further reduce power consumption.
In July 2011, Elpida announced that it planned to raise $987 million by selling shares and bonds. In August 2011, Elpida claimed to be the first memory maker to begin sampling 25 nm DRAMs.
On February 27, 2012, Elpida filed for bankruptcy.[Elpida press release](_blank)
dated 27 February 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
With liabilities of 448 billion yen (US$5.5 billion), the company's bankruptcy was Japan's largest since Japan Airlines bankrupted in January 2010.[ The company suffered from both strong yen and a sharp drop of DRAM prices as a result of stagnant demand of personal computers and disruption of computer production caused by flooding of HDD factories in Thailand.][ DRAM prices plunged to a record low in 2011 as the price of the benchmark DDR3 2-gigabit DRAM declined 85%.][ Elpida was the third largest DRAM maker, held 18 percent of the market by revenue in 2011.]
On March 28, 2012, Elpida was delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange. At the time, Elpida was one of the suppliers of SDRAM components for the A6 processor in the Apple iPhone 5.
In February 2013, Tokyo court and Elpida creditors approved an acquisition by Micron Technology.
The company became a fully owned subsidiary of Micron Technology on July 31, 2013.
Effective February 28, 2014, Elpida changed its name to Micron Memory Japan and Elpida Akita changed its name to Micron Akita, Inc.
Products
* DDR4 SDRAM
Double Data Rate 4 Synchronous Dynamic Random-Access Memory (DDR4 SDRAM) is a type of synchronous dynamic random-access memory with a high bandwidth (" double data rate") interface.
Released to the market in 2014, it is a variant of dynamic r ...
* DDR2 SDRAM
* DDR3 SDRAM
* Mobile RAM
Mobile may refer to:
Places
* Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city
* Mobile County, Alabama
* Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S.
* Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels
* Mobile ...
* GDDR5
Graphics Double Data Rate 5 Synchronous Dynamic Random-Access Memory (GDDR5 SDRAM) is a type of synchronous graphics random-access memory (SGRAM) with a high bandwidth ("double data rate") interface designed for use in graphics cards, game co ...
* XDR DRAM
XDR DRAM (extreme data rate dynamic random-access memory) is a high-performance dynamic random-access memory interface. It is based on and succeeds RDRAM. Competing technologies include DDR2 and GDDR4.
Overview
XDR was designed to be effecti ...
Locations
The company has two design centers, one manufacturing plant/technology development site, and one sales office in Japan:
The Hiroshima Plant is key to Micron's efforts to develop low-power DRAM products essential to smartphones and other mobile devices. Once these products achieve yield and performance targets (optimal cost structure, quality and lower end-to-end product cycle time) in Hiroshima, the manufacturing process can then be transferred to other sites.
Micron's realignment of the Japanese operations included the following:
* $2 billion investment in Hiroshima to enhance competitive capabilities
* Acquisition of test and probe personnel in Hiroshima from to bring these capabilities in-house
* Sell-off of its test and assembly capabilities in Micron Akita to Powertech Technology
Powertech Technology Inc. (PTI; ; 6239. TW) is a Taiwanese semiconductor assembly, packaging and testing company.
In 2010 the company entered a strategic alliance with Japan's Elpida Memory and Taiwan's chip foundry United Microelectronics Corpor ...
, Inc. (PTI), a Taiwanese semiconductor assembly, packaging and testing company
* Sell-off of its equity stake in Tera Probe to PTI
With these changes, Micron's DRAM test and assembly capabilities would be based in Hiroshima and Taiwan.
See also
* Renesas Electronics
is a Japanese semiconductor manufacturer headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, initially incorporated in 2002 as Renesas Technology, the consolidated entity of the semiconductor units of Hitachi and Mitsubishi excluding their dynamic random-access ...
* Numonyx
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Computer memory companies
Manufacturing companies based in Tokyo
Semiconductor companies of Japan
Companies formerly listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange
Electronics companies established in 1999
Japanese companies established in 1999
Companies that have filed for bankruptcy in Japan
Japanese subsidiaries of foreign companies
2004 initial public offerings
2013 mergers and acquisitions
Micron Technology