Chip giants agree on larger wafers

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Three global chip manufacturers have reached an agreement to start semiconductor production that is based on larger wafers from 2012, the companies said yesterday.
"Samsung Electronics Co., Intel Corp. and TSMC have agreed on the need for industry-wide collaboration to move on to the 450 millimeter-sized wafers starting in 2012 for continued growth of the chip industry," the three companies said in a joint statement.
U.S.-based Intel is the world's largest chipmaker and Korea-based Samsung ranks No. 1 in the field of memory chips while Taiwanese TSMC is the top foundry.
With the planned transition to the 450 mm wafers, the firms are likely to strengthen their lead over those who have been trying to keep up. Some smaller players have not completed their transition from 200 mm to 300 mm.
Leading firms led the transition to 300 mm wafers in 2001, a decade after the initial 200 mm manufacturing facilities were introduced in 1991.
According to industry officials, bigger wafers help lower the production cost per chip. The number of chips cut from a 450 mm wafer is twice as many as that from the a 300 mm one, meaning that manufacturers can bring down the production cost per chip dramatically, the joint statement said.
Additionally, bigger wafers can help diminish overall use of resources per chip, through more efficient use of energy, water and other resources, they said.
"The transition to 450 mm wafers will benefit the entire ecosystem of the chip industry, and Intel, Samsung, TSMC will work together with suppliers and other semiconductor manufacturers to actively develop 450 mm capability," said Byun Cheong-woo, Samsung's senior vice president in charge of the memory chip manufacturing operation.
The three companies will cooperate with the semiconductor industry to help ensure that all of the required components, infrastructure and capability are developed and tested for a pilot line by this target date, they said.
By Lee Sun-young