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Scottsdale, Arizona --- February 27, 2003 --- With sales of $2.1 billion and 27% marketshare, Intel remained the leading flash memory supplier in 2002 (Figure 1). Overall, flash memory sales accounted for approximately 9% of Intel’s total IC revenue in 2002.

At least three factors have kept Intel far ahead of its competitors in the flash memory market, particularly for NOR-based flash devices used in cell phones. First, Intel has six manufacturing lines to build its flash memory. Four are high-volume wafer fab facilities while two others (Fab 8, Israel and Fab D2, Santa Clara) serve as limited-use flash fabs.

Intel also leads in process technology. All of its flash products are built using 0.18µ process technology and plans call for many of its high-density devices to be built using 0.13µ line widths in 2003. IC Insights believes that Intel is significantly ahead of its NOR competitors in multi-level cell (MLC) technology, which effectively doubles the number of bits (density) for a given area of silicon. Combined, these factors give Intel one of the lowest cost structures and strongest manufacturing positions among flash memory suppliers.

Rocketing to the Number 2 position in 2002 was Samsung, whose flash sales increased 267% to $1.1 billion. Samsung is the leading provider of NAND-based flash memory and saw strong demand from consumer storage devices such as memory cards, digital cameras, MP3 players, and solid-state video recorders. Samsung’s high-density, 1Gb and 2Gb single-level chips built on its 0.12µ process dropped in price and were in big demand through the year.

IC Insights’ newly released McClean Report shows that the flash memory market is forecast to grow to $10.6 billion in 2003 from $7.8 billion in 2002, an increase of 36%. Flash unit shipments are expected to increase 21% to 1.8 billion units in 2003 and the flash average selling price (ASP) is forecast to rise to $4.81, an increase of 12% from 2002.

Global flash market growth in 2003 remains highly dependent on growth in the wireless communications market, specifically increased shipments of 2.5G and 3G cellular handsets. However, even if cell phone unit shipments remain flat in 2003, the flash density per phone is increasing at a robust rate, growing from 32Mb to 64Mb throughout most of the world. In Japan, the average flash content is at least doubling to an average of 128Mb per phone in 2003.

The market for high-density (&Mac179;64Mb) flash is a very active segment of the flash memory market. Efforts to revitalize next-generation cellular phones and other wireless devices are breathing new life in high-density NOR-based flash products. Meanwhile, consumer applications such as digital cameras, PDAs, and removable memory cards for these systems are rapidly increasing demand for high-density NAND-based flash.

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	February 27, 2003 RELEASE	Release
	Intel Remains Top Flash Memory Supplier, Samsung Vaults to Number Two Flash Memory Market Forecast to Increase 36% in 2003 Scottsdale, Arizona --- February 27, 2003 --- With sales of $2.1 billion and 27% marketshare, Intel remained the leading flash memory supplier in 2002 (Figure 1). Overall, flash memory sales accounted for approximately 9% of Intel’s total IC revenue in 2002. At least three factors have kept Intel far ahead of its competitors in the flash memory market, particularly for NOR-based flash devices used in cell phones. First, Intel has six manufacturing lines to build its flash memory. Four are high-volume wafer fab facilities while two others (Fab 8, Israel and Fab D2, Santa Clara) serve as limited-use flash fabs. Intel also leads in process technology. All of its flash products are built using 0.18µ process technology and plans call for many of its high-density devices to be built using 0.13µ line widths in 2003. IC Insights believes that Intel is significantly ahead of its NOR competitors in multi-level cell (MLC) technology, which effectively doubles the number of bits (density) for a given area of silicon. Combined, these factors give Intel one of the lowest cost structures and strongest manufacturing positions among flash memory suppliers. Rocketing to the Number 2 position in 2002 was Samsung, whose flash sales increased 267% to $1.1 billion. Samsung is the leading provider of NAND-based flash memory and saw strong demand from consumer storage devices such as memory cards, digital cameras, MP3 players, and solid-state video recorders. Samsung’s high-density, 1Gb and 2Gb single-level chips built on its 0.12µ process dropped in price and were in big demand through the year. IC Insights’ newly released McClean Report shows that the flash memory market is forecast to grow to $10.6 billion in 2003 from $7.8 billion in 2002, an increase of 36%. Flash unit shipments are expected to increase 21% to 1.8 billion units in 2003 and the flash average selling price (ASP) is forecast to rise to $4.81, an increase of 12% from 2002. Global flash market growth in 2003 remains highly dependent on growth in the wireless communications market, specifically increased shipments of 2.5G and 3G cellular handsets. However, even if cell phone unit shipments remain flat in 2003, the flash density per phone is increasing at a robust rate, growing from 32Mb to 64Mb throughout most of the world. In Japan, the average flash content is at least doubling to an average of 128Mb per phone in 2003. The market for high-density (&Mac179;64Mb) flash is a very active segment of the flash memory market. Efforts to revitalize next-generation cellular phones and other wireless devices are breathing new life in high-density NOR-based flash products. Meanwhile, consumer applications such as digital cameras, PDAs, and removable memory cards for these systems are rapidly increasing demand for high-density NAND-based flash. Figure 1 About IC Insights IC Insights, Inc., based in Scottsdale, Arizona, is dedicated to providing high-quality, cost-effective market research for the integrated circuit industry. Founded in 1997, IC Insights offers coverage of global economic trends, IC market forecasts, capital spending and fab capacity trends, product market details, and technology trends, as well as complete IC company profiles and evaluations of emerging markets for ICs. For more information, contact 480-348-1133 or info@icinsights.com, or visit www.icinsights.com.
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