Semiconductor memory market to cross $86 billion by 2007.

According to a report from Business Communications Co. (www.bccresearch.co m, Norwalk, CT), RG-277 Computer Memory: Important Trends and Directions, the worldwide market for semiconductor memory was valued at nearly $47 billion in 2002. Expected to grow at an average annual growth rate (AAGR) of 13.1%, the market will cross $86.5, Billion by 2007. The volatile memory market share will rise from 74% to nearly 78% in 2007, assuming that dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips will continue to be the main memory element used for personal computers (PCs) and that new applications of flash memory will not keep pace with the overall growth in PC, workstation and network equipment memory requirements.

Historical trends indicate that the nonvolatile memory revenue would exceed volatile memory in 2007; however, new flash memory applications are not expected to increase at a rate as high as volatile memory because the PC market is the main driver of memory revenue and PCs use DRAMs.

The year 2007 is expected to be a low point for flash sales and a high point for DRAM revenue. However, in 2007, nonvolatile magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) technology will begin to reach mass-scale production. Beyond 2007, MRAM will become the commonly used memory chip for the main memory of PCs and the main memory network server chip. Ten MRAM factories are expected to have started pilot production by 2007.