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TSMC tips 450-mm fab
Mark Lapedus
1/31/2011 3:33 PM EST
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC) has disclosed plans that it will build a 450-mm fab, according to an analyst.
As reported, Intel, Samsung and TSMC are pushing hard for 450-mm fabs. Amid a flurry of speculation, Intel Corp. confirmed that its new fab in the United States is being constructed for the 450-mm wafer era.
Now, TSMC tipped its plans. ''Last week, (TSMC CEO) Morris Chang obsoleted the world’s 300-mm with the blast of a conference call,'' said G. Dan Hutcheson, CEO of VLSI Research Inc., in a report.
''While it didn’t get much attention in the media, he said their first 450-mm line is planned for Fab 12 Phase VI. It will be for their 20-nm production ramp. According to Morris, 'The timing of the pilot line will be around 2013-2014. Our first 450-mm production line is planned for around 2015 -2016.' This is pretty much on schedule with the ITRS roadmap,'' Hutcheson said.
''The importance of this is that back in the 300-mm days, things really didn’t get going until TSMC announced a real fab. There was a lot of table pounding, but the supply base doesn’t get rolling until there are real orders. Orders are not real until there’s a fab in play,'' he said.
''That means that you can expect Samsung and GlobalFoundries to put 450-mm into their plans immediately. I would bet Samsung will be first or it may well come as a Common Platform alliance deal,'' he added.
Despite a sudden surge in fab tool activity for the next-generation wafer size, 450-mm fabs will emerge rather later than sooner, and the production target appears to have slipped.
TSMC recently raised its capital spending for 2011 amid mixed results for the quarter. As expected, TSMC expects 2011 capital expenditures to be about $7.8 billion in 2011. TSMC's original capital spending budget was about $6 billion for this year, according to analysts.
As reported, Intel, Samsung and TSMC are pushing hard for 450-mm fabs. Amid a flurry of speculation, Intel Corp. confirmed that its new fab in the United States is being constructed for the 450-mm wafer era.
Now, TSMC tipped its plans. ''Last week, (TSMC CEO) Morris Chang obsoleted the world’s 300-mm with the blast of a conference call,'' said G. Dan Hutcheson, CEO of VLSI Research Inc., in a report.
''While it didn’t get much attention in the media, he said their first 450-mm line is planned for Fab 12 Phase VI. It will be for their 20-nm production ramp. According to Morris, 'The timing of the pilot line will be around 2013-2014. Our first 450-mm production line is planned for around 2015 -2016.' This is pretty much on schedule with the ITRS roadmap,'' Hutcheson said.
''The importance of this is that back in the 300-mm days, things really didn’t get going until TSMC announced a real fab. There was a lot of table pounding, but the supply base doesn’t get rolling until there are real orders. Orders are not real until there’s a fab in play,'' he said.
''That means that you can expect Samsung and GlobalFoundries to put 450-mm into their plans immediately. I would bet Samsung will be first or it may well come as a Common Platform alliance deal,'' he added.
Despite a sudden surge in fab tool activity for the next-generation wafer size, 450-mm fabs will emerge rather later than sooner, and the production target appears to have slipped.
TSMC recently raised its capital spending for 2011 amid mixed results for the quarter. As expected, TSMC expects 2011 capital expenditures to be about $7.8 billion in 2011. TSMC's original capital spending budget was about $6 billion for this year, according to analysts.
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