Tokyo, Japan–Elpida Memory, Inc. is planning to construct a 300mm wafer fab, its first, on the grounds of NEC Hiroshima, Ltd. Construction will begin in January 2001, with volume production of 256 Mb dynamic random access memory (DRAM) devices in a 0.13-micron process expected to begin during the first half of 2002.

Maximum capacity will eventually reach 20,000 wafers per month, the equivalent of 48,000 wafers at the conventional 200mm diameter according to the company. The new fab will have a total floor space of 22,000-square-meters and 17,000-square-meters of clean room space.

Elpida, which is a joint venture of NEC Corp. and Hitachi Ltd., is investing approximately 160 billion Yen (US$1.45 billion) to build the new fab, while NEC and Hitachi are each contributing a significant amount toward construction costs.