Showing a structure and mass-producing it are different things
A conversation that explains the change in the cell structure of memory chips at a non-specialist's level and weighs what it means. A cell is made of one container that holds electricity and one switch that opens and closes its door; the smaller it is made the higher the performance, but the problem of electricity leaking grows, so structures that wrap the switch on three sides, and then on four, appeared. The new structure said to cut floor area by 33% and raise storage by 50% is introduced, along with the next step of standing up a structure that had been lying down, but the conclusion is that this is not a question of technology. Existing makers have the technology too, the real wall is how much can be turned out stably, and the view is that it takes several years for mass production to settle in. The cause of the share price fall is also read as closer to peak worries after big results and to an exchange rate no one can control than to a new competitor — all of it prefaced by the note that this is a personal view, not that of the analyst who covers the sector.
Key points
- The smaller the cell, the bigger the problem of electricity leaking
- A new structure claiming a 33% smaller floor area and 50% more storage
- The real wall is not the structure but mass production and yield
- A reading that the sharp fall is closer to peak worries and the exchange rate
This is a note: my own write-up after reading several sources. It has no source link; events checked against a source are kept as records.