SanDisk begins to supply NAND flash wafers, say memory module makers
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Josephine Lien, Taipei; Jessie Shen, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 9 March 2010]

Taiwan-based NAND flash device makers including A-Data Technology, Transcend Information and Power Quotient International (PQI), and flash controller supplier Phison Electronics have begun to source NAND flash wafers from SanDisk, according to industry sources.

The sources claimed SanDisk has now become one of these players' upstream suppliers, along with its partner Toshiba. Speculation about SanDisk mulling changes to its strategy to sell NAND flash in wafer or die form has been circulating in the Taiwan memory sector since September 2008.

SanDisk is also looking to withdraw or settle NAND flash-related patent infringement lawsuits in the US against those Taiwan-based NAND flash device and controller chip makers who have become its customers, the sources said.

A-Data has issued a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE) disclosing SanDisk has dropped a patent lawsuit against it. The announcement follows Phison's recent filing with the TSE indicating it has settled with SanDisk over a patent suit filed in the same US court.

SanDisk reportedly has also tapped the white-box market by supplying microSD cards to downstream device makers.

Chip equipment spending to grow 76% in 2010, says Gartner
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Press release; Jessie Shen, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 9 March 2010]

	2009	2010(e)	2011(f)	2012(f)	2013(f)	2014(f)
Semiconductor capital spending	25,934.9	40,429.9	51,291.5	61,898.6	54,167.5	52,953.2
Y/Y	-41.1%	55.9%	26.9%	20.7%	-12.5%	-2.2%
Capital equipment	16,677.1	29,372.6	36,413.3	42,919.6	35,694.2	35,965.5
Y/Y	-45.6%	76.1%	24.0%	17.9%	-16.8%	0.8%
Wafer fab equipment	12,976.8	22,924.7	28,793.3	34,351.3	29,176.7	28,581.6
Y/Y	-46.4%	76.7%	25.6%	19.3%	-15.1%	-2.0%
Packaging and assembly equipment	2,382.6	4,181.7	5,013.2	5,716.4	4,335.5	4,977.0
Y/Y	-40.4%	75.5%	19.9%	14.0%	-24.2%	14.8%
Automated test equipment	1,317.7	2,266.2	2,606.8	2,851.9	2,182.1	2,406.8
Y/Y	-46.1%	72.0%	15.0%	9.4%	-23.5%	10.3%
Other spending	9,257.8	11,057.3	14,878.2	18,979.0	18,473.3	16,987.8
Y/Y	-30.8%	19.4%	34.6%	27.6%	-2.7%	-8.0%

Gartner: Global chip equipment spending forecast, 2009-2014 (US$m)
Source: Gartner, compiled by Digitimes, March 2010

Worldwide semiconductor capital equipment spending is projected to surpass US$29.4 billion in 2010, a 76.1% rise from 2009 spending of US$16.7 billion, according to Gartner.

"The dramatic semiconductor industry recovery rate over the last three quarters has necessitated a renewed growth for equipment spending," said Jim Walker, research vice president at Gartner. "Spending by the memory and foundry markets, along with the advancement to new technology nodes, will drive the semiconductor equipment segment in the first half of 2010. Quarterly growth will see a slight slowdown in the second half before capacity additions start ramping up the equipment industry again going into 2011."

Gartner estimated wafer fab equipment spending is set to grow 76.6% in 2010, following a 46.4% decline in 2009. The growth will be driven by aggressive technology upgrades, especially for the leading memory companies.

Packaging and assembly equipment (PAE) spending is forecast to increase by more than 75% in 2010, according to Gartner, adding that the growth is expected through 2012. The modest decline expected for 2013 is based on a more traditional inventory-based market contraction, the firm said.

On a regional basis, Gartner believes Asia Pacific will improve its share of PAE consumption throughout the forecast period. The region will account for nearly 85% of all PAE sales by 2014. China will be the largest individual consumer of PAE in 2012, accounting for nearly 27% of the total market that year.

According to Gartner, 2010 will also bring the worldwide automated test equipment (ATE) market its first positive growth year since 2006. After bottoming out in the first quarter of 2009, the ATE market has realized substantial quarterly gains and is expected to grow by more than 70% in 2010. Growth is expected to continue during the next several quarters as device demand improves, said Gartner, adding that its 2010 growth expectations are driven heavily by the expected transition to DDR3 memory devices.

"The semiconductor equipment industry will experience a very strong growth spurt in 2010, as we emerge from a very costly recession, and this growth is expected to continue throughout 2012," said Walker. "However, we expect this upturn to be one of the first in which the peak revenue in capital equipment does not surpass previous growth cycles, which may well help to mitigate the boom/bust scenario that we have seen in the past."