TOKYO (AFX) - Toshiba Corp and SanDisk Corp announced completion of a wafer fabrication plant in Yokkaichi in central Japan which is to begin operating by the second half of calendar 2005, making NAND flash memories from 300mm wafers.
NAND is a type of memory chip used in a wide variety of digital electronic devices like digital cameras and cellphones, because it retains data after power is switched off.
Construction of the new plant began in April 2004, and total investment in the facility is projected at about 270 bln yen by March 2007 following a phased increase in output, Toshiba and SanDisk said in a joint statement.
"We believe the NAND market will see annual growth rates over 30 pct from 2004 to 2008, from 700 bln yen to 2.1 trln yen," said Masashi Muromachi, the president and chief executive officer of Toshiba's Semiconductor Co.
"We expect the new fab will assure our responsiveness to growing demand for higher-density NAND flash," said Muramachi, who is also a Toshiba vice-president.
Eli Harari, the president and chief executive officer of Sunnydale, California-based SanDisk, the original inventor of flash storage cards and the world's largest supplier of flash data storage card products, said: "With this large-scale investment, SanDisk is expressing our commitment to expanding NAND production at Toshiba and in Japan."
The new plant is expected to begin producing 10,000 wafers a month by this year, with that number rising to 40,000 a month by the first half of calendar 2007, with output at each stage equally shared between Toshiba and SanDisk, the joint statement said.
"The fab still has space to expand capacity, and further investment could take output to as high as 62,500 wafers a month," it said.
The facility will employ 90-nanometer process technology at first. It will migrate to 70-nanometer technology by the first half of calendar 2006, "following the first mass-production of NAND flash memory with 70 nanometer process technology" this year at Toshiba's existing 200nm-wafer fab in Yokkaichi.
And the new plant is slated to begin using 55-nanometer process technology by late calendar 2006, the partners said.
Muromachi said Toshiba expects to see approximately 200 pct annual growth in bit storage capacity.
robin.elsham@xfn.com
rte/jm
For more information and to contact AFX: www.afxnews.com and www.afxpress.com
NAND is a type of memory chip used in a wide variety of digital electronic devices like digital cameras and cellphones, because it retains data after power is switched off.
Construction of the new plant began in April 2004, and total investment in the facility is projected at about 270 bln yen by March 2007 following a phased increase in output, Toshiba and SanDisk said in a joint statement.
"We believe the NAND market will see annual growth rates over 30 pct from 2004 to 2008, from 700 bln yen to 2.1 trln yen," said Masashi Muromachi, the president and chief executive officer of Toshiba's Semiconductor Co.
"We expect the new fab will assure our responsiveness to growing demand for higher-density NAND flash," said Muramachi, who is also a Toshiba vice-president.
Eli Harari, the president and chief executive officer of Sunnydale, California-based SanDisk, the original inventor of flash storage cards and the world's largest supplier of flash data storage card products, said: "With this large-scale investment, SanDisk is expressing our commitment to expanding NAND production at Toshiba and in Japan."
The new plant is expected to begin producing 10,000 wafers a month by this year, with that number rising to 40,000 a month by the first half of calendar 2007, with output at each stage equally shared between Toshiba and SanDisk, the joint statement said.
"The fab still has space to expand capacity, and further investment could take output to as high as 62,500 wafers a month," it said.
The facility will employ 90-nanometer process technology at first. It will migrate to 70-nanometer technology by the first half of calendar 2006, "following the first mass-production of NAND flash memory with 70 nanometer process technology" this year at Toshiba's existing 200nm-wafer fab in Yokkaichi.
And the new plant is slated to begin using 55-nanometer process technology by late calendar 2006, the partners said.
Muromachi said Toshiba expects to see approximately 200 pct annual growth in bit storage capacity.
robin.elsham@xfn.com
rte/jm
For more information and to contact AFX: www.afxnews.com and www.afxpress.com
© 2005 AFX News
