The leading players are now jockeying for position in the forthcoming battle for leadership in the 4M-bit memory chip market, where respective positions are likely to be determined this autumn: NEC Corp, uncharacteristically, was the last manufacturer to start sample shipments of 4Ms, Hitachi Ltd having been the first, when it released its first samples of 4M-bit planar-type chips of 89.95 square millimetres at the end of last year and is now supplying working samples, but it will switch to piggyback technology for mass production; Fujitsu Ltd has the smallest chip size at 68 square millimetres, and uses an easy-to mass-produce stack technology; Toshiba Corp, top of the tree in the 1M-bit generation, hopes to convert its existing users to 4M bit parts using trench technology, while NEC is pulling out all the stops to regain the top position from Toshiba, using its new factory in Hiroshima, which will be dedicated to 4M memory production.
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