IBM, Siemens and Toshiba alliance announces smallest fully functional 256 Mb DRAM chip.FISHKILL, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 6, 1995--IBM, Siemens A.G. and Toshiba Corporation (company) Toshiba Corporation - A Japanese technology manufacturer with 364 subsidiaries worldwide. Toshiba makes and sells electronics for home, office, industry and health care including information and communication systems, electronic components, heavy electrical apparatus, today announced a major achievement in their joint semiconductor development project -- reporting the smallest and fastest fully functional 256-megabit Dynamic Random Access Memory Dynamic random access memory (DRAM) is a type of random access memory that stores each bit of data in a separate capacitor within an integrated circuit. Since real capacitors leak charge, the information eventually fades unless the capacitor charge is refreshed periodically. (DRAM) chip ever developed. With a size of 286 square millimeters (less than one-half inch) and a memory access time of just 26 nanoseconds (26 billionths of a second), the revolutionary new chip is at least 13 percent smaller and has an access time that is nearly twice as fast as any chip from any other company. DRAMs are pervasive, fingernail-size silicon devices that store electronic data in products ranging from mainframe computers to home appliances. A 256 Mb DRAM can hold more than 25,000 pages of double-spaced (for Europe 16,000 pages one and one-half line spaced) typewritten type·write intr. & tr.v. type·wrote , type·writ·ten , type·writ·ing, type·writes To engage in writing or to write (matter) with a typewriter. text, or the equivalent of the entire works of William Shakespeare, plus those of Johann Wolfgang Goethe, as well as the Manyoshu, the Kokinshu and the Tale of Genji. There still would be enough bits left to store a typical edition of the International Herald Tribune International Herald Tribune Daily newspaper published in Paris. It has long been the staple source of English-language news for American expatriates, tourists, and businesspeople in Europe. . The smaller size and faster speed of the alliance device will help enable future memory-hungry systems such as powerful personal computers and workstations, as well as high-definition digital video, multimedia and telecommunications systems. For OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) The rebranding of equipment and selling it. The term initially referred to the company that made the products (the "original" manufacturer), but eventually became widely used to refer to the organization that buys the products and developers, a smaller, faster chip means improved overall system performance and a reduced footprint for memory on printed circuit boards. "Strategic alliances with world-class companies like Siemens and Toshiba are a significant part of our business strategy," said Dr. Michael J. Attardo, general manager of IBM's Microelectronics Division. "The alliance put together a team of the best scientists, researchers and technicians anywhere, and it delivered world-class results. But this is only the beginning. The best is yet to come." Jurgen Knorr, senior vice president of Siemens and head of its Semiconductor Group, said, "The joint development has demonstrated that the best brains of the three companies can indeed create a leading-edge technology. This enables the companies to stay ahead of the fast-moving progress in the semiconductor business even beyond the turn of the century." "This remarkable breakthrough in advanced research shows what can be achieved by a dedicated alliance of companies that brings leading-edge capabilities to a highly motivated program with clear aims," said Manaobu Ohyama, senior vice president of Toshiba and group executive of its semiconductor group. "The project and its achievements are clearly in the forefront of many international projects for advanced semiconductors. I congratulate all involved." Researchers from the three companies have been working on the joint development project since January 1993 at IBM's advanced Semiconductor Research and Development Center in Fishkill, N.Y. The innovative device, featuring 0.25 micron CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) Pronounced "c-moss." The most widely used integrated circuit design. It is found in almost every electronic product from handheld devices to mainframes. process technology, is designed to support any proposed Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC The division of the Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA) that deals with semiconductor standards (officially, the JEDEC Solid State Technology Association of EIA). JEDEC was formed in 1958 when the Joint Electron Tube Engineering Council (JETEC) split into two Joint Electron Device ) standard for 256 Mb DRAMs. Details of the performance and technology aspects of the chip will be presented at the 1995 Symposium on VLSI Technology VLSI Technology, Inc was a company which designed and manufactured custom and semi-custom ICs. The company was based in Silicon Valley, with headquarters at 1109 McKay Drive in San Jose, California. , June 6-8, and at the 1995 Symposium on VLSI VLSI: see integrated circuit. (1) (Very Large Scale Integration) Between 100,000 and one million transistors on a chip. See SSI, MSI, LSI and ULSI. (2) (VLSI Technology, Inc., Tempe, AZ, www.semiconductors. Circuits, June 8-10, both to be held in Kyoto, Japan. The three-way alliance that developed the device is an outgrowth of separate, long-standing relationships among the companies. IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) and Siemens currently work together in 16 Mb DRAM manufacturing. IBM, Siemens and Toshiba are partners in 64 Mb DRAM development, and a joint venture between IBM Japan and Toshiba manufacturers advanced color flat-panel computer displays. Toshiba and Siemens have been collaborating in various semiconductor areas, including 1 Mb DRAMS, standard cells and gate arrays. All three companies have substantial experience in the field of sub-micron semiconductor development. Most notably, each has demonstrated technological leadership in 64 Mb DRAMs, which is a key underpinning of the 256 Mb chip. CONTACT: IBM Jim Smith There are several famous people with the name Jim Smith, including:
or Siemens Klaus H. Knapp, 011-49-89-4144-8480 or Toshiba Annette Birkett, 714/455-2298 |
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