Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1517130
14 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2024 I always distinguish between good design- ers and great designers. Good designers are a dime a dozen. You can go on LinkedIn and find a handful of good designers. But the great designers are the ones who go the extra mile. ey go to conferences and constantly learn and relearn different things. ey are growing as designers, and they become the great ones. ey are both fab and design experts. e best designers talk to fabricators, and visit their fab houses so they can see what's going on. Visit- ing the board house helps you understand their job of taking your data and using it to build a successful product. LaRont: Why isn't it compulsory for new PCB designers to visit a fab shop? at's the million-dollar question. I would make it a requirement, just for the good of the products you're trying to build. Shaughnessy: We appreciate your time, John. This has been great. ank you all. I enjoyed it. DESIGN007 TrendForce reports a 29.6% QoQ in DRAM indus- try revenue for 4Q23, reaching US$17.46 billion, propelled by revitalized stockpiling efforts and strategic production control by leading manufac- turers. Looking ahead to 1Q24, the intent to further enhance profitability is evident, with a projected near 20% increase in DRAM contract prices—albeit with a slight decrease in shipment volumes to the traditional off-season. Samsung led the pack with the highest revenue growth among the top manufacturers in Q4 as it jumped 50% QoQ to hit $7.95 billion, largely due to a surge in 1alpha nm DDR5 shipments, boost- ing server DRAM shipments by over 60%. SK hynix saw a modest 1–3% rise in shipment volumes but benefited from the pricing advantage of HBM and DDR5, especially from high-density server DRAM modules, leading to a 17–19% increase in ASP and a 20.2% rise in revenue to $5.56 billion. Micron witnessed growth in both volume and price, with a 4–6% increase in each, resulting in a more moder- ate revenue growth of 8.9%, totaling $3.35 billion for the quarter due to its comparatively lower share of DDR5 and HBM. On the capacity planning front, Samsung's pro- duction bounced back in the first quarter of this year, reaching an 80% utilization rate after significantly cutting production back in 4Q23. Demand is expected to rise notably in 2H24, leading to a continuous increase in production capacity through 4Q24. SK hynix is actively expanding its HBM capac- ity and gradually increasing wafer starts, especially with the rollout of HBM3e's mass production. Micron is also warming up its wafer starts, aim- ing to boost its advanced 1beta nm process share for HBM, DDR5, and LPDDR5(X) products as it expects a convergence in capacity due to the increase in advanced process equip- ment. (Source: TrendForce) DRAM Industry Sees Nearly 30% Revenue Growth in 4Q23