TSMC completes Fab 12, Phase 5 construction

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd recently held a topping ceremony for its Fab 12, Phase 5 building located in the Hsinchu Science Park and announced that volume production is expected to begin in Q3 10.

Mark Liu, TSMC senior VP of operations said, "TSMC has always striven to improve its trinity of strengths —technology leadership, manufacturing excellence, and customer partnership—in order to provide steadfast support for our customers and to join with them to forge a powerful competitive force in the semiconductor industry."

He added, "The topping of our Fab 12, Phase 5 facility, and our plans to rapidly move in equipment and begin volume production there in Q3 10 is another example of our competitiveness in providing steadfast support for customers."

Fab 12, Phase 4 and 5 are TSMC's latest generation of production facilities designated for R&D as well as initial volume production. Phase 4 began volume production in Q3 09, while construction began on Phase 5 at the end of 2009. Phase 5 is expected to begin volume production in Q3 10 to satisfy urgent recent increases in customer demand.

In addition to volume production of 28nm products, Fab 12, Phase 5 will also serve as the base for R&D of 22nm and more advanced process technologies. Currently, TSMC is conducting R&D for 28nm and 22nm process technologies at its Fab 12, Phase 1 and 2 facilities, and will hand 28nm technology to the Phase 5 facility for volume production in Q4 10.

To meet customer needs, and in addition to capacity expansion at Fab 12, TSMC will also begin construction on Fab 14, Phase 4 located at its Tainan site. Groundbreaking is scheduled following the end of Chinese New Year, with the facility complete and ready for equipment move-in at the end of this year. These capacity expansion and technology development projects all attest to TSMC's determination to provide steadfast support for our customers.

TSMC also began a large-scale recruitment campaign in January, and expects to hire more than 3,000 semiconductor-related staff, primarily engineers.

Fab 12, Phases 4 and 5, have a total area of 7.83 hectares. It has a factory building with four levels above ground and two levels underground, for a total building area of 83,600m?, and a clean room area of about 22,700m? (or about the size of three soccer fields).

Around 4,500 employees will be working in the Phase 4 and Phase 5 complex, with R&D and production line engineers numbering approximately 3,500 people.

The Fab, 12 Phase 5 building incorporated many green concepts in energy conservation and pollution control in its design, including a process water conservation rate of 85 percent, reclamation of rainwater, recirculation and reuse of general exhaust heat, and development of solar power generation and LED lighting applications. It has the goal of reaching zero emissions of greenhouse gases.