Micron Picks Boise for Its Next Fab
David Lammers, News Editor — Semiconductor International, 3/4/2008

Micron Technology Inc.'s (Boise, Idaho) President and COO Mark Durcan said at a recent press briefing that Micron has selected Boise as its preferred site when it builds another wholly owned 300 mm facility, Dan Francisco, Micron spokesman, said. More

Chartered Buys Hitachi 200 mm Fab in Singapore
Staff — Semiconductor International, 2/16/2008

Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd. (Singapore) said it will purchase a 200 mm wafer fab from Hitachi Semiconductor Singapore Pte Ltd for $233M in cash. As part of the deal, Chartered will gain $250-$300M of foundry business from Renesas Technology Corp. (Tokyo), which uses the Hitachi Singapore fab. More

SEMI Reports 15% Decline in Equipment Fab Spending for 2008
PR Newswire, 2/14/2008

A recent analysis of SEMI Fab Database reports shows that spending on fab construction projects and fabs equipping will likely see double-digit declines in 2008 as many fab construction projects are put on hold or pushed out to the end of the year or into 2009. More

Survey: China's IC Industry Growing Fast
Yao Gang, Editor-in-Chief, SI China — Semiconductor International, 2/16/2008

China's IC industry is expected to reach $23.9B (172 billion yuan) in revenues this year, according to a survey by the Shanghai Integrated Circuit Industry Association. China's 2008 IC sales are expected to increase 31.3% this year, about the same rate of growth as in 2007, but down from 43.3% in 2006. More

Toshiba Plans Two Memory Fabs; SanDisk, Toshiba Announce Flexible MoU
David Lammers, News Editor — Semiconductor International, 2/19/2008

Toshiba Corp. (Tokyo) announced that it will build two fabs in parallel, one at its existing memory complex in Yokkaichi and another in Iwate in northeastern Japan. Separately, SanDisk Corp. (Milpitas, Calif.) and Toshiba said they have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) to form a new production joint venture and construct a new 300 mm wafer fab in Japan. The MoU provides SanDisk with reduced capital expenditure commitments, according to SanDisk CEO Eli Harari. More

SMIC to Expand With Two Fabs in Shenzhen
David Lammers, News Editor — Semiconductor International, 1/30/2008

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC, Shanghai, China) will launch a semiconductor manufacturing complex in Shenzhen in cooperation with the Shenzhen municipal government, CEO Richard Chang said. In a conference call after the release of the company's fourth quarter financial results, Chang said that the Shenzhen campus will include an R&D center, a 200 mm production line and a 300 mm line that will use licensed 45 nm process technology from IBM Corp. (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.). More

Intel to Shut Down Last Silicon Valley 'Fab'
Mark Boslet — San Jose Mercury News, 1/19/2008

Intel is closing its last local chip plant later this year. The plant closing reflects how the changing dynamics of the industry continue to push the development and production of semiconductors to other parts of the world. More

AMD Has Internal 45 nm Silicon; 45 nm Production Expected in First Half
David Lammers, News Editor — Semiconductor International, 1/17/2008

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD, Sunnyvale, Calif.) has "internal samples" of 45 nm silicon now, said Dirk Meyer, president and COO, putting the company on track to start ramping 45 nm microprocessor production in the first half of this year. AMD CEO Hector Ruiz declined to reveal details about the company's manufacturing outsourcing plans, called "asset smart" within AMD. He said that the company continues to upgrade the former 200 mm Fab 30 in Dresden, Germany, to 300 mm capabilities, with the fab then taking on the designation of Fab 38. More

Nitronex Qualifies Durham Fab for GaN Process
Staff — Semiconductor International, 11/7/2007

Nitronex Inc. (Durham, N.C.) said it has qualified its new facility for manufacturing gallium nitride on silicon RF power transistors for the wireless infrastructure, broadband and military markets. The qualification completes the relocation to the 85,000 ft² R&D and manufacturing facility in Durham from the pilot line facility in Raleigh, a move that began early this year. More