1. Purpose and scope
Memory prices fall over a generation's life, so cost must fall faster. Shrinks and derivatives are planned from the start: a smaller die on an improved process, a NAND step to more layers or bits per cell, or a new density or package that reuses most of the design. Each one saves cost but changes the part, and each change must be qualified and notified so customers can decide whether they need to requalify.
This stage opens at Shrink or derivative approval, when the case and the requalification scope are approved, and closes at Shrink qualified and notified, when the change is characterised, requalified, notified and, where needed, requalified by customers.
In scope: the shrink business case, the shrink process baseline, shrink design and tape-out, characterisation, requalification, product change notices and customer acknowledgements, and compliance evidence updates. Out of scope: an entirely new generation, which starts again at the roadmap.
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