Date: 13/12/2011

TSMC expanding faster its facility for making 20nm semiconductor chips

TSMC held a ceremony in Taichung's Central Taiwan Science Park for Phase 3 of its Fab 15 GigaFab, which is built to make 20nm semiconductor chips.

TSMC said it began construction on Fab 15, Phase 1, in July 2010, and completed equipment move-in in mid-2011 with volume production scheduled for early 2012. At the same time, Fab 15, Phase 2 started construction in mid-2011 and is expected to begin volume production next year. Fab 15 Phases 1 and 2 are forecast to generate as much as US$3 billion in revenue per year once they enter volume production, and Phase 3 will also reach a similar scale in the future, reports TSMC.

The beeline of fables chip makers at TSMC might be driving TSMC for fast expansion. Is the recipe for 20nm chips so tough to crack for other semiconductor foundry service providers? It looks so.