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Improvements to its fab in Wilmington, Massachusetts and Limerick, Ireland, have led to higher utilization, shorter lead times and lower manufacturing costs for Analog Devices. The Limerick fab has transitioned all production 200mm wafers, while its Wilmington fab has made a range of operational improvements to lower cost and achieve greater wafer fabrication efficiencies for its proprietary analog, mixed-signal, and MEMS manufacturing process technologies. Read more >>

Elpida Memory’s 300mm DRAM fab in Hiroshima has been named one of the recipients of the ‘2009 Global Warming Prevention Activity Award’ bestowed by Japan's Ministry of the Environment. The plant uses Japan's largest–scale cogeneration system to reduce CO2 emissions and has installed PFC combustion abatement systems to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Also, since 2003 the plant has introduced an extensive range of energy conservation measures and plant employees have gone through environmental awareness training. Read more >>

Two former analog fabs long ago owned by Plessey in the UK are now in the operating hands of a recently formed new business, Plus Semi, which has acquired for an undisclosed sum, X-FAB’s wafer fabrication plant in Plymouth, UK. A technology license agreement ensures the continuation of the existing operation. Read more >>

An old 2-3inch analog fab, owned by Microsemi Corporation is set for closure by April 2011. Microsemi expects that after the consolidation activities are completed in 18 months, annual savings benefiting operating income will range from US$20 million to US$25 million.
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Leading-edge process demand at UMC has sparked the pure-play foundry to expand capacity at its two 300mm fabs, sparking the need to raise capital expenditure in 2010. Although UMC did not say what its CapEx would be next year, CapEx over the last several years has been at very low levels and is not expected to pass its previously stated plans of US$500 million for 2009. In recent times, UMC reached a peak of spending in 2004 at US$1.5 billion. Read more >>

Having been the construction project manager for AMD’s original Dresden-based fabrication facilities, Globalfoundries has awarded M+W Zander the full turnkey construction contract for Fab 2, currently being built at the Luther Forest Technology Campus in Saratoga County, New York. A departure from pervious fab projects, M+W Zander is also responsible for the architectural aspects of the 4 building project. Previously, AMA Group, based in Italy had been the architectural firm responsible for this aspect of the work. The turnkey project is worth approximately €550 million to M+W Zander over the two-year construction schedule. Read more >>

After more than 12 months of static capacity and technology migrations, UMC is now planning to migrate is Singapore-based 300mm facility, Fab 12i to sub-45nm node capability and increase capacity. For more than four quarters, Fab 12i capacity had remained at approximately 29,926wspm and the most leading-edge capability had been at the 65nm node. Read more >>

Texas Instruments dormant 300mm facility, RFAB is to begin tool installing this October and will become the semiconductor industries first 300mm dedicated analog fab. In the first phase of capacity expansion RFAB will generate 250 jobs new jobs and be capable of shipping more than $1 billion worth of analog chips per year. TI plans to ship the first chips by the end of 2010. It will also be one of only a few 300mm facilities that are actually tool installing for the first time in 2009. Read more >>

The introduction of Microsoft’s newest operating system is being touted as a key catalyst in the demand for DDR3 DRAM and improved sales of PCs for DRAM fab utilization rates improving, according to DRAMeXchange. According to DRAMeXchange, 4Q09 average monthly wafer-in production will be up to 365K for Taiwanese DRAM vendors in the fourth quarter of 2009, a rise of 68% compared with the production situation in 1Q09. Read more >>

Semiconductor fab utilization rates are set to increase to 88% in 3Q09, returning to levels seen before the current downturn, according to market research firm IC Insights. Higher production loadings should result in IC ASPs rising by 5% per annum through 2010 and 2012. According to the SICAS data, IC capacity utilization reached a low point of 57% in 1Q09, as production was slashed to stem a serious inventory build. As the inventory burn took place utilization rates rebounded to 78% in 2Q09.

 

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