Crucial 2012 Annual Report Download - page 3

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We make significant investments to develop the proprietary product and process technologies that are implemented in our
worldwide manufacturing facilities and through our joint ventures. These investments enable our production of semiconductor
products with increasing functionality and performance at lower costs. We generally reduce the manufacturing cost of each
generation of product through advancements in product and process technology such as our leading-edge line-width process
technology and innovative array architecture. We continue to introduce new generations of products that offer improved
performance characteristics, such as higher data transfer rates, reduced package size, lower power consumption, improved read/
write reliability and increased memory density. To leverage our significant investments in R&D, we have formed, and may
continue to form, strategic joint ventures that allow us to share the costs of developing memory product and process
technologies with joint venture partners. In addition, from time to time, we also sell and/or license technology to other parties.
We continue to pursue additional opportunities to monetize our investment in intellectual property through partnering and other
arrangements. On July 2, 2012, we entered into a Sponsor Agreement with the trustees of Elpida Memory, Inc. and Elpida's
wholly-owned subsidiary, Akita Elpida Memory, Inc. The Elpida Companies filed petitions for corporate reorganization
proceedings with the Tokyo District Court under the Corporate Reorganization Act of Japan on February 27, 2012. (See "Item
7. Management Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Overview.")
Business Segments
We have the following four reportable segments:
NAND Solutions Group ("NSG"): Includes high-volume NAND Flash products sold into data storage, personal music
players and the high-density computing market, as well as NAND Flash products sold to Intel Corporation ("Intel")
through IM Flash.
DRAM Solutions Group ("DSG"): Includes DRAM products sold to the PC, consumer electronics, networking and server
markets.
Wireless Solutions Group ("WSG"): Includes DRAM, NAND Flash and NOR Flash products, including multi-chip
packages, sold to the mobile device market.
Embedded Solutions Group ("ESG"): Includes DRAM, NAND Flash and NOR Flash products sold into automotive and
industrial applications, as well as NOR and NAND Flash sold to consumer electronics, networking, PC and server
markets.
Our other operations do not meet the quantitative thresholds of a reportable segment and are reported under All Other.
Products
NAND Flash Memory
NAND Flash products are electrically re-writeable, non-volatile semiconductor memory devices that retain content when
power is turned off. NAND Flash sales were 44%, 36% and 30% of our total net sales in 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively.
NAND Flash products are sold by our NSG, WSG and ESG segments. NAND Flash is ideal for mass-storage devices due to its
fast erase and write times, high density and low cost per bit relative to other solid-state memories. Removable storage devices,
such as USB and Flash memory cards, are used with applications such as PCs, digital still cameras, MP3/4 players and mobile
phones. Embedded NAND Flash-based storage devices are utilized in mobile phones, MP3/4 players, computers, solid-state
drives ("SSDs"), tablets and other personal and consumer applications. The market for NAND Flash products has grown
rapidly and we expect it to continue to grow due to demand for these and other removable and embedded storage devices.
Our NAND Flash products feature a small cell structure that enables higher densities for demanding applications. We offer
Single-Level Cell ("SLC") NAND Flash products as well as Multi-Level Cell ("MLC") and Triple-Level Cell ("TLC") NAND
Flash products, which have two and three times, respectively, the bit density of SLC NAND Flash products. In 2012, we
offered SLC NAND products in 1 gigabit ("Gb") to 64Gb densities. In addition, we offered 8Gb to 128Gb 2-bit-per-cell MLC
NAND Flash products and 32Gb to 128Gb 3-bit-per-cell TLC NAND Flash products. We offer high-speed NAND Flash
products that are compatible with advanced interfaces. Additionally, our multichip packages ("MCPs") incorporate NAND
Flash with other memory products to create a single package that simplifies design while improving performance and
functionality.