Increased production will help keep prices of DRAM and flash memory from rising too much Taiwanese memory chip maker Winbond Electronics said Monday it’s ramping production of double data rate 2 (DDR2) DRAM (dynamic-RAM) chips at its newest semiconductor factory, which will cost NT$47.8 billion (US$1.48 billion) once it reaches full production at the end of this year.The investment will raise output levels to 24,000 silicon wafers per month by the end of 2006 from 5,000 currently, said Mike Liu, a Winbond representative. Semiconductors are made on 300mm round silicon wafers, and thousands of DRAM chips can be made on one wafer. The size of the silicon wafers has also been given over to the type of chip plant, 300-mm plants, which are replacing older 200mm chip factories because the larger wafer size is important in driving down the cost of mass-produced chips.Increased production at new chip plants such as Winbond’s will help keep the price of DRAM and flash memory from rising too much amid a scramble for memory chips used in consumer electronics goods such as iPods, digital cameras, and mobile phones. Taiwanese memory chip makers have been leading the charge in 300mm (12-inch) chip plants. Late last year, Nanya Technology said it planned to spend up to NT$50 billion to build its first 300mm plant in Taiwan. Powerchip Semiconductor Corp. and ProMOS Technologies Inc. both operate 300mm chip factories in Taiwan and have pledged massive new spending for this year. Powerchip said it will spend NT$60 billion in 2006, while ProMOS pledged even heavier spending of US$2.3 billion.Powerchip has been the most aggressive among Taiwanese DRAM makers in expanding. Late last year, the company said it planned to build four state-of-the-art 300mm chip plants over the next six years to keep up with rising demand and become one of the world’s leading DRAM makers. In an investment proposal sent to local authorities, it estimated total spending on the plan at NT$312 billion. Technology Industry