Thanks For The Memory (Chips)

by Fred Kahn

For some unexplained reason I had come to the belief that all memory chips were produced outside the United States. However, during some recent research I found to my pleasant surprise that the good Old U.S. of A. has not sent all of its manufacturing jobs overseas. Micron Technology is meeting the high demand for many different types of memory chips and making them in three plants right in our own back yard!

Here are some interesting facts that I recently discovered:
Micron Technology, Inc., is one of the world's leading providers of advanced semiconductor solutions. Through its worldwide operations, Micron manufactures and markets DRAMs, NAND flash memory (used in the now ubiquitous thumb drives, cell phones, PDA's, etc), CMOS image sensors (used in many digital cameras), other semiconductor components, and memory modules for use in leading-edge computing, consumer, networking, and mobile products

• Micron manufactures semiconductor products, including memory chips and CMOS sensors, at three locations in the United States as well as other facilities throughout the world.
• Micron produced the world's first 1.4 micron (micro-meter) CMOS imaging device, enabling them to produce 1/4 inch/5 Megapixel, 1/3 inch/8 Megapixel, and 1/2 inch/12 Megapixel CMOS sensors.

A bit of history of this company:

• In 1998 Micron purchased the memory manufacturing facilities of Texas Instruments.
• In 2002 Micron purchased Toshiba's commodity DRAM operation.
• Also in 2002, Micron introduced the first 1 GB Double Data Rate (DDR) SDRAM.
• 2003 Micron delivered the industry's first 4 Gigabyte (GB) DDR SDRAM DIMM.
• In the same year, Micron introduced a 1.3 mega pixel CMOS image sensor, which achieves image quality comparable to CCD while taking advantage of the benefits of CMOS sensor technology
• In 2004 Micron shipped its first production 2GB 90nm NAND Flash Memory products.
• In June of 2006 Micron completed its acquisition of Lexar Media. Micron also owns Crucial Technology.

Personal Experience with an Innovation

Recently I purchased a very interesting memory chip for my new (Canon G7) digital camera. Not only is this high-speed 1GB SD II memory chip fast (60X) and inexpensive ($39.00)--it has a feature which is both unique and highly useful. With a little bend in the middle, the chip unfolds to extend its built-in USB connection. This allows the chip itself to be plugged directly into the USB port on my computer without the need for any adapters, cords, or a card reader!

About Fred Kahn

Fred Kahn is one of NYPC's leaders and trainers. He regularly volunteers his time to promote NYPC and teaches some of its most popular courses.
Fred is an eBay power seller and an engaging writer. Read his incisive guide to choosing binoculars at eBay.