An Introduction to Semiconductor Economics

I used to work for a large semiconductor company in the memory sector and I quickly realized that the product we were selling wasn&#x27;t a whole lot different from milk - if you made it, and it was good, it would sell. Though this article seemed to discuss processors specifically, it&#x27;s interesting to see that memory chips, in my limited experience, had neared the point of a commodity - now that I&#x27;m on the other side of the divide in embedded systems&#x2F;consumer electronics, it&#x27;s clear that JEDEC and ONFI standards have been huge drivers of this type of market behavior.<p>On a somewhat related note - there&#x27;s a whole &quot;stock market&quot; just for memory commodities, which you can check out at:<p><a href="http://www.dramexchange.com/" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.dramexchange.com&#x2F;</a>

I find the semiconductor industry really fascinating. It seems like the classic example of an industry that can&#x27;t easily be disrupted by start ups, particularly on the fabrication side.<p>But I&#x27;ve often wondered if it is possible. Occasionally see micron scale fabrication lines pop up on ebay for ~200K USD. And while possibly not useful for the majority of digital design, I often wonder if there are interesting analogue applications they might have.