
Since 2009, niche DRAM has been one of the rising stars in the memory sector, as well as the semiconductor industry in general, with growth soaring over 70% annually and outpacing standard DRAM's annual bit growth. Niche DRAM's outstanding performance has been fueled by strong growth in demand.
Hot sales of smartphones and tablet devices have made mobile DRAM the main driving force of the niche DRAM market. Significant demand has also been coming from other market segments. In first-quarter 2009 a quick recovery from the economic doldrums sent shipments of such end-market applications as GPS devices, HDDs and flat-panel TVs rising. Increases in shipments of these end-market devices boosted the niche DRAM market.
In 2010 the global economy was starting to slow down, but the niche DRAM market remained strong mainly because higher integration of functionalities in end-market applications made it more demanding for the devices' computing capabilities, which in turn boosted the amount of niche DRAM used in a single device.
DIGITIMES Research estimate that the global niche DRAM market will grow 59.4% on year to reach 509.8 million GB in 2011, and that such strong growth will continue in 2012-2013.
With niche DRAM growing much faster than PC-related DRAM, it is expected that the niche segment's share of the overall DRAM market will increase to 22% in 2011 from 16% in 2010.
The present report first looks at the three major niche DRAM segments - mobile DRAM, specialty DRAM and graphics DRAM - with regard to their applications and technological development.
Then it analyzes and compares the technological roadmaps of the major memory vendors, such as Samsung, Hynix, Elpida and Micron, for mobile DRAM, specialty DRAM and graphics DRAM. Taiwan-based players, such as Nanya, Etron, Winbond and Powerchip, are also studied in terms of their niche DRAM development. There is also an analysis and comparison of the process shrink roadmaps of Korean, Japanese and Taiwanese players.
The report also offers an analysis of the niche DRAM market, looking at the individual segments of mobile DRAM, specialty DRAM and graphics DRAM in 2011, and making predictions for 2012 and 2013.
Chart 6: Specialty DRAM product development in terms of device requirements (MB)
Chart 8: Development of graphics DRAM technology, 2002-2013 (Gbps)
Chart 9: Transition from 2.5D to 3D will be the main trend in the development of niche memory
Chart 10: The development of niche memory technology in terms of the semiconductor industry chain
Development of smaller manufacturing processes by major international manufacturers
Chart 11: Major global DRAM manufacturers' development of process technology, 1Q10-4Q11
Chart 12: Major global memory manufacturers' development of mobile DRAM technology, 2007-2011
Chart 13: Major global memory manufacturers' development of specialty DRAM technology, 2007-2011
Chart 14: Major global memory manufacturers' development of graphics DRAM technology, 2007-2011
Taiwan-based memory manufacturers' development of niche memory technologies
Chart 20: Breakdown of growth in niche DRAM demand during 2011
Chart 21: Manufacturing and business processes for standard DRAM manufacturers
Chart 22: Manufacturing and business processes for niche DRAM manufacturers
Chart 23: The Apple iPad 2's DRAM has double the capacity and performance of the original iPad
Chart 24: Amount of DRAM installed in HTC's main smartphone models, 2007-2011
Chart 25: DRAM installed in individual CE products, 2010-2011 (MB)
Chart 30: Specialty DRAM demand from the TV sector, 1Q10-4Q11 (GB)
Chart 31: Specialty DRAM demand from the digital camera sector, 1Q10-4Q11 (GB)
Chart 33: Graphics DRAM demand from games consoles, 1Q10-4Q11 (GB)
Chart 34: Graphics DRAM demand from graphics cards, 1Q10-4Q11
Chart 37: Niche DRAM as a proportion of the overall DRAM market, 2010-2011 (GBm)
Chart 38: Smartphone mobile DRAM demand, 2009-2013 (million GB)
Chart 39: Feature phone mobile DRAM demand, 2009-2013 (million GB)
Chart 43: Digital camera specialty DRAM demand, 2009-2013 (million GB)
Chart 44: Global specialty DRAM demand, 2009-2013 (million GB)
Chart 45: Games console graphics DRAM demand, 2009-2013 (million GB)
Chart 46: Graphics DRAM demand from the graphics card sector, 2009-2013 (million GB)
Chart 47: Global graphics DRAM demand, 2009-2013 (million GB)
Chart 49: Niche DRAM capacity will vastly outstrip demand in 2012