Macronix managed to ramp up the capacity utilization rate of its 12-inch fab to 88% in the second quarter of 2013, while beginning to transform its 8-inch fab into a foundry house in the third quarter, said company president Chih-Yuan Lu at a July 30 investors meeting.

Utilization of production capacity at Macronix' 12-inch fab is set to rise further in the third quarter and exceed 90%, according to Lu.

Macronix' foundry services will be focused on the manufacture of driver ICs, analog chips and other semiconductors requiring high-voltage processes on a contract basis, and the 8-inch fab has started taking orders since the third quarter, Lu indicated. He added that Macronix' existing 6-inch fab clients are also looking to transition to 8-inch wafers.

The goal is to have 30-40% of Macronix' 8-inch fab capacity engaged in foundry services within the next 1-2 years, Lu noted. A portion of the 8-inch fab capacity will still be used to produce Maconix' own entry-level and mid-range memory chips, Lu said.

Macronix' NAND chips are currently built using 75nm process technology. Its entry into the NAND flash field is aimed at satisfying demand from its existing NOR flash clients who look to using NAND instead of NOR to reduce costs, Lu pointed out. The move is certainly not to directly compete with leading NAND flash vendors such as Samsung Electronics and Toshiba, Lu said.

Macronix also offers hybrid memory solutions - ROM paired with NAND flash - designed for game consoles, which require high-speed data transfer rates, Lu said. The firm has begun sampling the products.

Macronix expects to return to profitability in the third quarter of 2013, thanks to rising demand coming from the game console and handset sectors.

NOR flash sales contributed 63% to Macronix' overall revenues in the second quarter, followed by ROM products with 25%. Of its flash sales, chips built using a newer 75nm node accounted for 19% in the quarter, while the proportion of ROM revenues for 45nm climbed to 24%.

Macronix has started commercial production of 16Gb and 32Gb ROM chips using 45nm process technology, which will lift the proportion for 45nm to 45% in the third quarter, the company said. The 45nm, 16Gb and 32Gb ROM chips are designed for game consoles and other gaming terminals.

By: DocMemory
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