November 12, 2007 – Toppan Chunghwa Electronics is readying mass production of photomasks for 45nm chip production to be ready by mid-2008, following the lead of parent company Toppan Printing, according to Digitimes.

TCE will follow Toppan’s ramp of 45nm masks at sites in Japan and Germany. Work at 32nm is mainly focused in Japan, but development will be “gradually” shared with other sites, says Yuichi Kumamoto, Toppan Printing’s deputy chief director of semiconductor solutions business, cited by the report.

The increasing adoption of “fab-lite” strategies has helped the photomask market, he noted, particularly advanced process work in Taiwan, where TCE aims to secure a 35% market share (excluding TSMC).

Kumamoto also noted that he expects 10% growth in Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, with global photomask sales also seen growing by double-digits next year.