Infineon shrinks 256Mb SDRAM

German chip maker Infineon has moved its production process in Dresden to 0.14 micron (from its previous 0.17 micron facility), enabling it to announce a new, freshly shrunk 256Mb SDRAM memory chip, which it claims is the smallest in the industry.

The size reduction (about 18 per cent smaller than before) also translates into a cost reduction of about 30 per cent, the company says. Volume production on the news process will kick off early next year. It has also made a production sample of a new 512Mb DRAM chip that it is sending off to its partners like Intel for evaluation.

Infineon also reports that Intel has included the company's unbuffered modules based on the new 256MB SDRAM revision in the list of qualified memory modules for its D845HV P4 mobo.

Yesterday, the Reg reported that the company was "a spit and a handshake" away from its proposed merger with fellow DRAM maker Toshiba. ®