Intel is reportedly shifting production of 3D Xpoint Memory, or Optane Memory, over to Fab 68 in Dalian, China. The move comes months after the company announced it intended to sell off its share in the Intel/Micron co-operative venture, IM Flash Technologies. It's the Lehi, Utah facility which has been the centre of all 3D XPoint production since the two companies joined forces.
3D XPoint memory was co-developed by the two semiconductor giants to fill a perceived gap in the market between non-volatile NAND flash memory and low-latency, volatile DRAM memory. Essentially, it is a high-capacity SSD/RAM hybrid solution that can work in lieu of either within a system, either slotting into a motherboard’s DIMM or PCIe slot.
But, despite the technological successes of 3D XPoint (the jury is still out on its commercial success), Intel and Micron jointly announced that IM Flash Technologies would be sold to the latter for some $1.3bn. IM Flash Technologies will enter Micron’s sole control by the end of October, including the Utah fab, and from which point Intel will have until October 2020 to find an alternative source (or strike a deal with Micron) for 3D XPoint memory wafers if it intends to continue in the biz independently.
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