DEC. 16–TOKYO, Japan–Toshiba Corp. today announced that it will construct advanced semiconductor production facilities employing 300-mm wafers.

The company will also move ahead with an investment project in order to assure its continued leadership and competitiveness in the System LSI and memory businesses.

Toshiba will construct production lines based on 300-mm wafers at two of its major facilities in Japan. The first will be at Oita Operations, the company’s system LSI production base in Oita Prefecture, Kyushu; the
second at Yokkaichi Operations, its memory production base in Aichi Prefecture. The investment program will extend over four years from Fiscal Year 2003 and is expected to total approximately 350 billion yen.

The new production line at Oita Operations will mass-produce cutting-edge System LSIs for broadband network applications, using the company’s world-leading embedded DRAM process technology. This advanced facility, which is expected to adopt 45-nanometer process technology in the future, will assure Toshiba retain its leadership in the System LSI business.
Construction will start in Fiscal Year 2003 and mass production is scheduled to start in Fiscal Year 2004.

The new facility at Yokkaichi Operations will mass-produce NAND-type Flash memories, allowing Toshiba to maintain its leadership and competitiveness in a fast-growing market. Mass production is expected to begin in Fiscal Year 2006.