Memory IC design house Eon Silicon Solution, which mainly focuses on NOR flash memory solutions, has secured new foundry capacity that will contribute to its shipments from the third quarter of 2010, according to company president Pauling Chen. Chen did not reveal whether the company added new foundry partners.
Chen noted that NOR flash chips are still in severely tight supply, as foundry demand is exceeding supply. But Eon expects to solve its foundry supply issue in the third quarter, Chen indicated.
Eon is also working closely with its existing foundry partner Dongbu HiTek, Chen added. The Korea-based foundry now runs two fabs with capacity totaling 94,000 8-inch wafers a month.
In addition, Chen said Eon is shipping more 90nm NOR flash memory, which will account for 50% of its total shipments by the end of 2010. Orders for its 90nm-made 64Mb and 128Mb NOR chips have been strong, driven by growing demand for LCD TV, set-top box and other consumer electronics applications, according to Chen.
Eon has also developed 1.8V NOR flash chips and multi-chip package (MCP) solutions, which are now being sampled by handset customers, said Chen.
Eon expects its total NOR flash shipments to reach 470 million chips in 2010, Chen said. It shipped around 346 million NOR flash chips, mainly 8Mb products, in 2009. Gross margin for this year may reach 20-30% thanks to higher ASPs, compared to around 10% in 2009.