Oct. 2, 2008 – Formosa Sumco Technology is rolling out a king-sized version of silicon wafer ingots to make 300mm wafers capable of producing 60% more chips, an upgrade that fits into the firm’s plans to boost overall wafer output by 23%.

The 500kg ingot, vs. the normal 335kg ingot, is key to Formosa Sumco’s plan to boost 300mm wafer output to 160,000 wafers/month by year’s end, reports the Taiwan Economic News and Digitimes. The former cites Formosa Sumco GM Tadashi Watabe saying the jumbo ingot is “much better than that Sumco itself makes in terms of quality.” Three of the firm’s 30 ingot furnaces have already been converted to handle the 43% heavier ingots, adds the Digitimes report.

The company’s 200mm lines churn out 320,000 wafers/month but are now running <80% capacity due to lack of business from Nanya Technology (closures) and ProMOS Technologies (outsourcing to China), the papers report. So if 300mm demand continues to stay strong -- 300mm lines are now at full capacity -- the company will increase the number of 300mm-capable furnaces from 30 currently to 39 sometime next year.