According to a report from Korean media ETNews citing industry sources, it has indicated that Samsung Electronics has recently increased the capacity utilization rate of NAND Flash to over 90%, a further increase from the first quarter’s 80%.

Previously, Korean media including ETNews and The Elec held a relatively optimistic view of Samsung Electronics’ NAND Flash business, reporting that the operating rate of the Xi’an plant had reached 70%. However, the Chosun Daily has a different perspective, suggesting that Samsung Electronics continues to maintain its plan of reducing production by 50%.

According to the same report from ETNews, some NAND Flash fabs of Samsung are currently operating at full capacity, significantly better than the lowest utilization rate of 60% seen in 2023. Reportedly, the capacity utilization rate of the Xi’an plant in China has notably increased, followed by a gradual recovery in the NAND Flash capacity at Samsung’s Pyeongtaek facility in South Korea.

The report further cited another industry source who noted that downstream customers’ inventories of NAND Flash have essentially been depleted, leading to a balanced supply-demand trend. This is reportedly a key driver behind Samsung’s ongoing increase in capacity utilization.

The primary reason for the rise in NAND Flash market demand is attributed to the AI trend driving increased demand for enterprise solid-state drives (SSDs) from related businesses. This includes cloud computing service providers in North America and China increasing their purchases of enterprise storage to meet market demands.

As per TrendForce’s press release in March, it has projected a strong 13–18% increase in Q2 NAND Flash contract prices, with enterprise SSDs expected to rise highest. Despite Kioxia and WDC boosting their production capacity utilization rates from Q1 this year, other suppliers have kept their production strategies conservative. The slight dip in Q2 NAND Flash purchasing—compared to Q1—does not detract from the overall market’s momentum, which continues to be influenced by decreasing supplier inventories and the impact of production cuts.

Read more

• [News] Korean NAND Flash Manufacturers Cautiously Increase Wafer Input, Capacity Utilization Maintains Around 50%
• [News] Western Digital Customer Letter Confirms HDD Supply Shortage! NAND Flash and Hard Drive Prices Continue to Rise

(Photo credit: Samsung)

Micron, the largest memory manufacturer in the United States, is expected to receive over USD 6 billion in funding from the Department of Commerce to assist with the costs of local factory projects, as part of efforts to bring semiconductor production back to U.S. soil.

According to a report from Bloomberg, sources revealed that the funding has not been finalized yet and could be announced as soon as next week. It is still unclear whether Micron plans to seek further loans through the “Chip Act” in addition to direct funding.

Micron Technology, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and representatives from the White House all declined to comment on the reported funding.

The U.S. “Chip Act” provides semiconductor companies with USD 39 billion in direct funding and USD 75 billion in loans and loan guarantees to revitalize the U.S. semiconductor manufacturing industry, which has shifted production to Asia over the past few decades. U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo stated that approximately USD 28 billion of this funding will be allocated towards advanced manufacturing processes.

So far, the Department of Commerce has announced six grants, with three provided to established semiconductor companies. Specifically, TSMC received USD 6.6 billion USD, Samsung received USD 6.4 billion, and Intel received USD 8.5 billion.

As per the same report from Bloomberg, Micron has committed to building up to four factories in New York and one in Idaho. However, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra emphasized in March that these plans require Micron to obtain sufficient chip subsidies, investment tax credits, and incentives to address the cost differentials compared to expanding overseas.

Raimondo previously stated that the Department of Commerce will prioritize funding projects that commence before 2030. Per to previous documents from Micron cited by Bloomberg, among the four planned factories in New York, only two new factories may meet this requirement, with the other two not expected to start operations until 2041. Insiders suggest that this could mean that Micron’s subsidies may only support the first two factories in New York.

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• [News] The US Administration Rumored to Announce USD 7 Billion Grant for Samsung to Boost Chip Capacity
• [News] TSMC Receives USD 6.6 Billion for Chipmaking from the US Government, Commits to Constructing Third Fab

According to a report from South Korean media The Chosun Daily, Samsung Electronics is set to increase wafer input by approximately 30% this quarter at its NAND Flash production lines in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, and Xi’an, China. However, Samsung remains cautious about further production increases to avoid impacting NAND Flash price trends.

The report indicates that while Samsung’s NAND Flash production lines can exceed 2 million wafers in a quarter at full capacity, internal targets for wafer output in the second to fourth quarters are capped at 1.2 million wafers each, maintaining overall utilization rate at around 50%.

Market expectations cited in the same report suggest that Samsung Electronics will reaffirm its stance on reducing NAND Flash production during the first quarter earnings call later this month. In the previous earnings call, Samsung noted persistent high levels of NAND Flash inventory among major customers, necessitating continued aggressive production cuts.

The same report further indicates that SK hynix has set a quarterly cap of around 600,000 wafers for NAND Flash production, with overall utilization rate ranging between 50% and 60%.

As per TrendForce’s data, it has projected a strong 13–18% increase in Q2 NAND Flash contract prices, with enterprise SSDs expected to rise highest. Despite Kioxia and WDC boosting their production capacity utilization rates from Q1 this year, other suppliers have kept their production strategies conservative. The slight dip in Q2 NAND Flash purchasing—compared to Q1—does not detract from the overall market’s momentum, which continues to be influenced by decreasing supplier inventories and the impact of production cuts.

Read more

• [News] Memory Manufacturers’ Price Hikes Prompt Backlash, Module Suppliers Hesitate to Follow
• [News] Micron Expects 4-6% Quarterly DRAM Supply Impact Post Taiwan Earthquake

(Photo credit: Samsung)

The US government announced on April 15th that it will provide up to USD 6.4 billion in subsidies to South Korean semiconductor giant Samsung Electronics for expanding advanced chip production capacity at its Texas plant.

The US government previously approved subsidies of up to USD 8.5 billion for US chip giant Intel and USD 6.6 billion for TSMC to alleviate future semiconductor supply constraints. Semiconductors are currently considered the lifeblood of the global economy.

The Department of Commerce stated in a release, “…the U.S. Department of Commerce and Samsung Electronics (Samsung) have signed a non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms (PMT) to provide up to $6.4 billion in direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act.”

The statement also mentioned that Samsung Electronics is expected to “invest more than $40 billion dollars in the region in the coming years, and the proposed investment would support the creation of over 20,000 jobs.”

US officials told reporters that this subsidy from the “Chips and Science Act” would assist Samsung Electronics in expanding chip production for use in aerospace, defense, and automotive industries, enhancing US national security.

Lael Brainard, the Director of the White House National Economic Council, emphasized that the resurgence of advanced chip manufacturing in the United States signifies a significant milestone for the domestic semiconductor industry.

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo indicated that this subsidy would support two chip production facilities, one R&D fab, and one advanced packaging facility. She mentioned that this subsidy would also help Samsung expand its semiconductor facility in Austin, Texas.

Raimondo further stated, “…this proposed funding advances America’s leadership in semiconductor manufacturing on the world stage.”

Previously, the U.S. government announced that Intel would receive USD 8.5 billion in federal subsidies and USD 11 billion in loans. Intel is planning to invest USD 100 billion across four states in the U.S. for building and expanding fabs, and is also seeking an additional USD 25 billion in tax credits.

On the other hand, US administration is set to provide USD 6.6 billion in aid to TSMC, which plans to build a third chip plant in Arizona with a total investment of USD 65 billion.

Read more

• [News] The US Administration Rumored to Announce USD 7 Billion Grant for Samsung to Boost Chip Capacity
• [News] TSMC Receives USD 6.6 Billion for Chipmaking from the US Government, Commits to Constructing Third Fab

AI and big data are driving a massive demand for memory data, which also imposes higher requirements on memory technologies. Against this backdrop, the technology competition among memory giants is heating up.

In terms of NAND Flash, major companies are focusing on breakthroughs in the number of layers. Recently, The Korean Economic Daily reported that Samsung Electronics is expected to mass-produce the ninth-generation NAND Flash (V-NAND) later this month.

The company had already produced the 236-layer eighth-generation V-NAND Flash memory at scale in 2022. The upcoming ninth-generation V-NAND Flash memory will continue to use the structure of double NAND Flash stacks, with the number of layers reaching 290. According to industry predictions, Samsung’s future tenth-generation V-NAND is expected to reach 430 layers, and Samsung will switch to a three-stack structure at that time.

Looking further into the future, both Samsung and Kioxia have revealed plans to develop 1000-layer NAND Flash. Samsung aims to develop 1000-layer NAND Flash by 2030, while Kioxia plans to mass-produce 3D NAND Flash chips with more than 1000 layers by 2031.

In terms of DRAM, memory giants are zeroing in on advanced process nodes and 3D DRAM.

In March 2024, Micron disclosed in its financial result that the majority of DRAM chips are currently at the 1α and 1β advanced nodes, and the next generation 1γ DRAM will introduce EUV lithography machine, which has already undergone trial production.

Samsung’s DRAM chip technique is at the 1b nm level, and recent reports suggest that Samsung plans to start large-scale production of 1c nm DRAM within this year, using EUV technology. Samsung will also step into the era of 3D DRAM in 2025. The company has already demonstrated two 3D DRAM technologies: vertical channel transistors and stacked DRAM.

SK Hynix is also developing 3D DRAM. Last year, BusinessKorea reported that SK Hynix proposed using IGZO as the new generation channel material for 3D DRAM. According to industry sources, IGZO is a metal oxide material composed of indium, gallium, and zinc oxide. Its biggest advantage is its low standby power consumption, making it suitable for DRAM transistors requiring long lifespan. This characteristic is easily achievable by adjusting the composition ratio of In, Ga, and ZnO.

(Photo credit: Samsung)