Chief Financial Officer Micron Technology Ernest Maddock at a recent event for brokers shared his forecasts for the development of the industry as a whole, as well as the company's strategic plans, in particular.
He explained, for example, that the pace of transition to the release of solid state memory with 3D spatial layout (3D NAND) is determined not so much by the technological and financial capabilities of the manufacturer, as by the specific demand for NAND-type memory. Thus, by the end of this fiscal year, Micron will transfer 75% of its production capacity to 3D NAND, and by the end of the next fiscal year will increase this proportion to 90%. At the same time, the remaining 10% of production capacities will continue to produce NAND-type memory with planar layout over the next several years.
Such restrictions are dictated by Micron customers, among which are manufacturers of automotive electronics. They will need planar NAND memory for a long time, because the life cycle and the terms of certification of products in the automotive industry are much longer than in the same segment of mobile electronics. Release planar NAND will have to continue for the next four to five years, as the representative of Micron explains.