Heard on the Beat (April 12)

TSMC fab watch underway in Taiwan

It's a bit of a mystery, but a sudden wave of news reports from this week's U.S. technology symposium hosted by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. say TSMC deputy CEO F.C. Tseng announced plans to break ground on two new 300-mm wafer fabs in Taiwan before the end of this year.

The news reports came from Tseng's remarks, while he was outlining the strategic direction of the foundry giant. The company announced and disclosed a number of major initiatives and developments, including its new 90-nm (0.09-micron) process technology roadmap (see April 9 story).

But some of Tseng's message apparently got lost in the shuffle. The public relations arm of TSMC insisted that the company has not "internally or externally" announced plans for any new 300-mm fabs. The only details that were available after the symposium was that TSMC's two existing 300-mm fabs in Taiwan-Fab 12 in Hsinchu and Fab 14 in Tainan--were back on track (see April 11 story).

TSMC observers believe it is only a matter of time before two new 300-mm fab projects will, in fact, crop up in Taiwan. Stay tuned. --M.L.

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Another new fab in China?

When it rains it pours. Another Chinese silicon foundry, Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp.(GSMC), is still building its initial fab in Shanghai--an 8-inch wafer-processing plant that will initially use 0.25-micron technology.

But GSMC is reportedly also establishing a subsidiary called Ningbo Sinomos Semiconductor Inc. (NSSI) in the Ningbo Free Trade Zone, based in the Zhejiang Province, according to Taiwan's DigiTimes news service. NSSI is planning to build a six-inch fab starting in June, said the news service.--M.L.

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Got to be in China, says TSMC VP

Silicon foundry giant TSMC is no doubt heading to China, and it apparently thinks it has no choice. Reports have surfaced that the company will begin construction of an 8-inch wafer fab in China this July, with volume production due in 2003. The company is looking at least several site selections for the fab, including Suzhou, near Shanghai.

This week, TSMC declined to elaborate on its plans in China, but company executives believe the chip foundry supplier has little or no choice but to build a fab in mainland China. "We have to capitalize on the foundry market in China," said Kenneth Kin, senior vice president of worldwide sales and marketing for TSMC.

In an interview with SBN, Kin also said that it makes sense to build a fab in China, given the nation's local content mandate. The China government has an unwritten mandate that systems sold into the nation must incorporate a large percentage of chips, which are either manufactured or assembled in China.

But Kin was quick to point out that Taiwan sill has several advantages over China in the semiconductor industry, leaving some to wonder if TSMC wants to go to China in the first place. Taiwan "has a better cost advantage," he said.--M.L.

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Domestic fab partnership
expected in China soon

While TSMC is heading to China, the action remains frenetic in among the domestic silicon foundries in that nation.

On April 18, foundry startup Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) of Shanghai will reportedly announce an alliance with another domestic provider, Huaxia Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (HSMC) of Beijing, according to the DigiTimes news service.

Under the plan, SMIC and HSMC will cooperate and build an 8-inch fab in Beijing. HSMC--a joint venture of China's Shougang Group and two US-based design houses-originally announced it would build a fab in Beijing a year or so ago. But recently, HSMC delayed the fab for undisclosed reasons (see Dec. 19 story).

Now, SMIC-which is ramping up its own fab in Shanghai-will save the day and join forces with HSMC.--M.L.

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Where is AMD's 0.13-micron MPU?

Although it's a bit late to the market, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. is set to roll out its first 0.13-micron microprocessors in "mid-May and the end of June," according to online reports by the Inquirer.

AMD's first 0.13-micron processor, dubbed the 2200+, is a 1.8-GHz chip, according to the U.K.-based Web site. The product is late to market, as the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company originally plan to roll out its 0.13-micron processors in the first quarter of this year.