US-based Silicon Storage Technology Inc (SST) plans to make China its major flash memory manufacturing base through collaboration with overseas and Chinese partners.

SST Chief Executive Officer Bing Yeh said the California-based company's non-self-aligned SuperFlash technology has been installed at Shanghai Hua Hong NEC Electronic Co Ltd (HHNEC) and is ready for mass production.

The company's self-aligned SuperFlash technology has been installed at Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (Grace), also in Shanghai.

"With its licence to use SST's 0.25-micron embedded SuperFlash technology, HHNEC is able to manufacture products designed by both China-based and overseas design houses," said Yeh.

Flash memory solutions manufactured with SuperFlash technology can be used in digital, networking, wireless communications and Internet computing products.

HHNEC President Fang Peng said the company now has a monthly production capacity of 32,000 wafers.

"We are technically ready for an increase of 30 per cent in wafer production next year," Fang said.

According to Yeh, SST, together with its partner of 10 years, Sanyo Semiconductor Company, plans to manufacture high-volume flash-based products on the Grace and HHNEC fabrication lines to provide local Chinese companies with advanced integrated circuits (ICs).

"This is being done to meet the growing needs of the burgeoning Chinese market," he said.

Yeh said the global semiconductor market is obviously recovering from three years of downturn, because markets in personal computers, mobile phones and other electronic segments are going up.

"Their growth has resulted in shortages of wafers," he said.

SST now produces 2.5 million SuperFlash IC units daily, far exceeding its monthly 1 million in 1995.

"In the next 10 years, the company's unit output is expected to increase 10 to 100 times," Yeh said.

The objective will be achieved through co-operation with Sanyo, HHNEC and Grace, which will be the backbone forces promoting SuperFlash technology, he said.

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