The Japanese electronics giant Toshiba is determined to produce next-generation Flash memory chips with technology developed by Samsung Electronics.
Samsung Electronics semiconductor chief Hwang Chang-kyu said Tuesday his firm was in patent negotiations with Toshiba, which wants to make OneNAND Flash memory chips starting next year.
OneNAND Flash memory is a next-generation compound chip developed by Samsung Electronics based on current Flash memory. Its reading speed is four times faster than ordinary NAND Flash and its writing speed 67 times faster than NOR Flash. However, its price is higher than the NOR Flash. Toshiba is offering cross-licensing and royalties for the technology.
Hwang said although demand for OneNAND Flash memory is growing, Samsung remains the only manufacturer of the chips. Toshiba is even willing to produce OneNAND memory in partnership with Samsung, since it decided that the future for the product is bright, he said.
Hwang added buyers like Apple and Sony asked for more NAND Flash supplies, but Samsung can meet only 50 percent of orders. Samsung is currently
in talks with Apple in order to establish a long term memory chip deal.