Mark Osborne, Editor-in-chief, Semiconductor Fabtech

With our work on tracking 300mm activity, primarily from the construction to first silicon perspective, we discovered a trend that has yet to receive any real attention from the semiconductor industry media and analysts. The majority of 300mm fabs have not been able to ramp wafer production anywhere comparable to that experienced with 200mm fabs. We investigate the key reasons for the slow ramp rates and provide an insight into the challenges facing 300mm fabs in ramping successfully.