Memory leaders form DRAM alliance

The five leading DRAM makers - Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Microelectronics, Micron Technology, Infineon Technologies, and the new NEC Hitachi Memory - have joined Intel in an alliance to develop a next-generation DRAM to succeed the upcoming Double Data Rate-2 memory architecture.

DRAMs based on the DDR-2 architecture are expected to hit the market in 2002 to 2003, followed by a new DRAM architecture in 2004 or 2005.

Intel tried to dictate the choice of Direct Rambus DRAMs for the current generation of memory, but delays forced it to accept competing PC-133 SDRAMs and DDR SDRAMs promoted by chip makers and many computer manufacturers.

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