Will Taiwan Innovation Memory Company (TIMC) become Taiwan’s NAND Flash Inc?

The Taiwan Innovation Memory Company (TIMC) was originally formed as the Taiwan Memory Company (TMC) and was tasked with shoring up Taiwan’s DRAM vendors (Powerchip, ProMOS and Rexchip) and linking up with Japanese DRAM powerhouse Elpida acting as a technology partner in an attempt to put Taiwan solidly into the competitive DRAM arena. It didn’t happen. The Taiwan legislature didn’t pony up the cash to get the organization off the ground as a DRAM-centric venture. However, Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) has apparently put the stamp of approval on a retasked version of TIMC, this time as a NAND Flash supplier. What’s the difference? Taiwan’s MOEA appears to be interested in funding a consortium that would develop home-grown NAND Flash semiconductor technology because Taiwan apparently has none at the moment. The new NAND-oriented TIMC includes include Elite Semiconductor Memory Technology and Photronics Semiconductor Mask as partners in the venture.

The economics ministry said that the group will research and analyze NAND Flash memory chip technology and develop chip designs, mask technology, and testing processes. The MOEA statement continued “Since Taiwan lacks patents and self-developed NAND flash technology, it is extremely limited in its ability to develop Flash products.” Taiwan’s government has a history of funding corporate consortia that develop basic electronics technology, which is then shared by consortium members to develop commercial products. The Taiwan government reportedly will fund as much as 40% of the research.

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