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Samsung Semiconductor has started mass producing 1 gigabit flash memory chips using a manufacturing process that allows for cheaper and smaller chips, the company said Wednesday.

Samsung is using 0.12 micron technology instead of the older 0.15 micron technology it used before.

Chips made using the new technology are smaller, which improves read speed, and can be produced at a lower cost, Samsung says in a statement.

Memory Goes Mobile

The NAND-type flash memory is used in devices such as digital cameras, handheld computers, and digital music players as well as in memory cards such as Smart Media, Compact Flash, and Secure Digital cards.

The chip is designed to have faster rewrite characteristics and higher storage volume.

Samsung, which is also working on 2 gigabit flash memory, claims it is the first to mass produce 1 gigabit flash memory using 0.12 micron technology.

Its rival Toshiba is using 0.13 micron technology to manufacture 1 gigabit flash memory, while Sharp last year said it expects to release flash chips that can hold 16 gigabits of data manufactured using 0.1 micron technology by 2006.

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