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KB3001
Strong move ahead of TSMC's competitors. It also shows confidence in the future ...
pixies
This may lead to another overcapacity in the future and somebody will eventually ...
TSMC breaks ground on $9B fab complex
Mark LaPedus
7/16/2010 12:03 AM EDT
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Raising the stakes in the foundry market, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC) has broken ground on its previously-announced, new 300-mm fab.
The plant, dubbed Fab 15, is located in Taichung’s Central Taiwan Science Park. Construction will be divided into four phases, and total investment over the next several years is expected to exceed NT$300 billion ($9.32 billion).
Fab 15 will be TSMC’s third Gigafab, or fab with capacity of more than 100,000 12-inch wafers per month. It will also be TSMC’s second Gigafab equipped for 28-nm technology.
''As capacity in Fab 15 grows, it will create 8,000 high-quality job opportunities, demonstrating TSMC’s dedication to corporate social responsibility,” said TSMC Chairman and CEO Morris Chang, in a statement.
TSMC is scheduled to begin equipment move-in for the phase 1 facility in June 2011, with volume production of 40- and 28-nm technology products for customers in the first quarter of 2012. More advanced process nodes will be introduced as TSMC’s technology development continues to advance.
In addition, to meet strong customer demand as we build Fab 15, TSMC will continue to expand capacity at Fab 12 in Hsinchu and Fab 14 in Tainan. Combined capacity of Fab 12 and Fab 14 currently exceeds 200,000 12-inch wafers per month, and is scheduled to exceed 240,000 12-inch wafers per month by the end of this year.
The plant, dubbed Fab 15, is located in Taichung’s Central Taiwan Science Park. Construction will be divided into four phases, and total investment over the next several years is expected to exceed NT$300 billion ($9.32 billion).
Fab 15 will be TSMC’s third Gigafab, or fab with capacity of more than 100,000 12-inch wafers per month. It will also be TSMC’s second Gigafab equipped for 28-nm technology.
''As capacity in Fab 15 grows, it will create 8,000 high-quality job opportunities, demonstrating TSMC’s dedication to corporate social responsibility,” said TSMC Chairman and CEO Morris Chang, in a statement.
TSMC is scheduled to begin equipment move-in for the phase 1 facility in June 2011, with volume production of 40- and 28-nm technology products for customers in the first quarter of 2012. More advanced process nodes will be introduced as TSMC’s technology development continues to advance.
In addition, to meet strong customer demand as we build Fab 15, TSMC will continue to expand capacity at Fab 12 in Hsinchu and Fab 14 in Tainan. Combined capacity of Fab 12 and Fab 14 currently exceeds 200,000 12-inch wafers per month, and is scheduled to exceed 240,000 12-inch wafers per month by the end of this year.
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Kaiser Silicon
7/16/2010 2:08 PM EDT
Oh my God! 25000 wafers starts/week. While I'm happy for TSMC, and happy for Taiwan, I wish someone in the US would build a fab like that. Or several of them.
Regrettably, the only company with pockets that deep is't, but is instead paying out massive dividends that I feel could be better used building a new fab annually. But I digress.
Instead of saber rattling towards business and being hostile towards business, I wish the Obama administratin would drop the antagonistic attitude towards business, drop its socialist schemes, and instead focus on job creation in the private sector.
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UdaraW
7/16/2010 2:30 PM EDT
Being non-US I am not being able to comment much about the political moves happening in the US. However, what I can see is that Taiwan and probably the rest of Asia is not too much bothered by the so-called double-dip recession about to befall the US. With buyers re-building up the integrated chip stock levels and orders increasing in number, the integrated chip foundries appear to be confident in the regain of the upward rise.
Further, that is truly huge capacity that TSMC is planning to cater to. Through Fab 15, TSMC extending its capacity on the 28nm process node which is a strong indication that the East is eager to jump onto the next big process node with minimal time lag. The Asian players are well poised to grab the manufacturing leadership in the sub-28nm (smaller) process nodes. It is a very interesting decade we are heading into.
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pixies
7/17/2010 2:11 PM EDT
This may lead to another overcapacity in the future and somebody will eventually get burned. US never compete head on in the field where it is already lagging but usually focus on nascent alternative technology to get ahead. iPhone is the best example in recent history.
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KB3001
7/18/2010 3:40 PM EDT
Strong move ahead of TSMC's competitors. It also shows confidence in the future and a desire to dominate the 28nm node market.
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