Hitachi Ltd and Texas Instruments Inc have agreed to join forces in producing 64Mb dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips. The pact for joint development of these chips highlights the way chip companies are getting together to lessen the financial and commercial risks associated with developing new chip technology. The chips, not expected to be commercially available until 1995, will be etched with circuit lines 0.35 microns wide and will be able to store as much informaiton as found on 256 newspaper pages. Hitachi doesn’t really need the deal as much as Texas Instruments – Texas has been struggling with technology to get production of 4Mb memories up to large volumes and could find itself lacking the $500m needed to set up 64Mb memory chip plant. In return Hitachi gets access to Texas Instruments’ coveted Kilby patent.
