World News
03/01/2005
BUSINESS TRENDS
Why China will keep pushing 200mm as far as it will go
While China took its first steps into 300mm wafer manufacturing in 2004, the bulk of fab expansions in the Chinese chip industry will be driven by new 150mm and 200mm plants through the rest of this decade, according to analysts and new projections. This growth is being fueled by a combination of strong domestic chip sales and new difficulties in raising investments for expensive 300mm factories, say analysts.
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Despite slumping stock prices since its $1.8 billion IPO in March 2004, Shanghai-based foundry Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. nevertheless started up China’s first 300mm fab in Beijing during 2H04, where its Fab 4 is ramping DRAM production. Other 300mm projects have been announced by Europe’s STMicroelectronics and South Korea’s Hynix Semiconductor Inc., as well as Shanghai-based foundry supplier Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. China likely will have four 300mm fabs by 2007, and could add a fifth by 2009, according to analyst Len Jelinek at iSuppli Corp., El Segundo, CA.
However, Jelinek predicts that 150mm and 200mm fabs will still account for the bulk of China’s increased chip capacity in the second half of this decade, although the 200mm lines will be 300mm and 90nm capable. The ability to ramp production quickly, as well as the high cost of 300mm fabs, are key considerations, he noted. Also, since China’s chip industry is able to supply only about 10% of the domestic market for semiconductors, the new 200mm fabs enable more chip companies to serve a greater variety of markets. - J.R.L.
USA
SEH America Inc. will begin producing 300mm silicon wafers at its plant in Vancouver, WA, but did not specify the amount of money to be invested in new equipment or when production would begin. It’s part of a ¥100 billion (US$958.5 billion) plan by parent company Shin-Etsu Handotai Co. to more than double production capacity of 300mm wafers in the US and Japan, making it the first Japanese firm with 300mm-wafer production operations abroad.
A consortium of semiconductor-industry firms plans to invest approximately $1.9 billion to upgrade IBM’s 300mm site in East Fishkill, NY, with construction scheduled to be completed in 2H05. Another $450 million plan spearheaded by ASML will expand R&D capabilities at the Center of Excellence in Nanoelectronics at the U. of Albany. The State of New York will help fund both projects.
ASIAFOCUS
China
Directors of Taiwan’s PowerChip Semiconductor Corp. (PSC) have approved a plan to open a 200mm wafer fab in mainland China, and will put 20% of the firm’s net worth of roughly $2.1 billion into the investment, according to the Financial Times. Chairman Frank Huang indicated PSC might seek a Japanese partner for the facility, expected to be constructed in 2006, and would buy used equipment from Japanese chipmakers rather than transfer its 200mm tools.
Japan
Sony Corp. plans to invest up to ¥60 billion (US$575.1 million) over the next two years to boost production capacity at Sony Semiconductor Kyushu’s technology centers in Kumamoto and Kokubu. The investments will go toward building new facilities and adding production equipment for CMOS image sensors and LCD driver ICs and components.
Taiwan
TSMC has achieved production levels of “several thousand” 300mm wafers/month using its Nexsys 90nm process technology, and will accelerate ramp-up to volume production during 2005. The process, running in Fab 12’s Phase I, will be deployed in Phase II and Fab 14 as they ramp to production.
EUROFOCUS
Infineon Technologies AG has terminated the $206 million sale of its fiberoptics unit to Finisar Corp. due to delayed filings with the SEC, and will seek to recover damages via arbitration in Germany. The company also indicated that it would restructure the 1200-worker unit, likely resulting in job cuts.
Soitec, Bernin, France, has agreed to supply silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates and technical support for an R&D program at Sematech subsidiary Advanced Technology Development Facility. The program has verified a 45nm-node multigate field-effect transistor test chip using 248nm lithography, resulting in a functional trigate device, and is developing a FinFET transistor using 193nm lithography.
BE Semiconductor Industries NV (Besi), Drunen, The Netherlands, will take €7.3 million in charges and writedowns to reduce its worldwide workforce by 10%, mainly at its Dutch packaging and tooling manufacturing operations. A forecasted sales decline of 20% in the current quarter prompted the actions, according to president and CEO Richard Blickman.