Macronix International, a leading semiconductor maker in Taiwan, said on Tuesday it had entered into a technology sharing agreement with US specialty chipmaker VLSI Technology.
Macronix president Miin Wu said a memorandum of understanding signed on Monday in San Jose opens the door to joint development of embedded flash memory technology and "system-on-a-chip" logic microchips for use in mobile computers and phones.
Flash memory is extremely important for devices like mobile phones that have a limited power supply, because it can retain information -- such as phone number directories and security codes -- even when the power is off. By contrast, dynamic random access memory (DRAM) loses all data as soon as power is lost.
Wu said Macronix aimed to develop system-on-a-chip devices that combine flash memory, DRAM, data processing, logic, power management, and other functions all on a single chip. Under the memorandum, Macronix and VLSI will try to make advances in what Wu called flash embedded memory technology at Macronix's factory at Hsinchu, Taiwan's technology center.
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