TSMC has begun mass production Kumamoto factory, JapanThis reportedly marks an important milestone for China’s advanced chip manufacturing and the first step in its overseas expansion Nikkei Index. According to reports, the factory is operated by Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (JASM) and uses a variety of process technologies to produce wafers for TSMC’s major customers in Japan. digital age.
With the opening of TSMC’s Kumamoto fab, it marks the first time logic chips using FinFET transistors have been manufactured in the Land of the Rising Sun. TSMC’s new wafer fab near Kumamoto on Kyushu Island uses TSMC’s 40 nm, 28 nm, 22 nm, 16 nm and 12 nm class process technologies and can process up to 55,000 300 mm wafers per month (WSPM). Several variants of N28 are designed to meet the needs of automotive and mature applications, while the 22ULP process is targeted at ultra-low power applications. As for the N16 and N12 production nodes, they are designed to meet the needs of more performance-demanding applications that can utilize FinFET transistors.
While 16nm-28nm class manufacturing processes are considered obsolete for advanced processors in PCs and smartphones (not to mention artificial intelligence and HPC applications), they are well suited for automotive and consumer electronics components, and large Japanese companies These components are in high demand. Because many wafers have long life cycles, these manufacturing technologies are expected to remain relevant, which is why TSMC, its partners and the Japanese government (which provided about $3 billion) invested approximately $8.27 billion in JASM.
Speaking of investors, TSMC is the largest shareholder with 86.5% stake, followed by sony Semiconductor solutions companies accounted for 6.0%, auto parts manufacturer Denso accounted for 5.5%, and Toyota Motor accounted for 2.0%.
Plans to build a second plant at the Kumamoto plant are underway. Construction is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2025, slightly later than expected. The factory will be able to produce wafers using TSMC’s 6-nanometer and 7-nanometer process technologies and will begin operations by the end of 2027. Investment is expected to reach approximately US$20 billion.
Kyushu Island Governor Kimura has expressed interest in introducing a third TSMC fab to the region (possibly with 5nm or even 3nm-level nodes), but he acknowledged that challenges include the success of the first two fabs and the implementation of transportation Congestion solutions and groundwater management. Support from the federal government and local communities is also critical.
For TSMC, its Japan plans are an important milestone in its expansion beyond China, following WaferTech in the early 2000s and Fab 16 in Nanjing, China, in the second half of the 2010s. The world’s largest chip foundry is about to officially start mass production of 4-nanometer and 5-nanometer chips at its Fab 21 plant near Phoenix, Arizona, which will mark another milestone in its expansion outside Taiwan. The third step in the company’s overseas expansion will be the ESMC factory near Dresden, Germany, which will mainly provide 12-nanometer, 16-nanometer, 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies to automobile manufacturers.