Tower Semiconductor plans capacity investment
(05/11/2006 8:51 AM EDT)
MUNICH, Germany — Foundry chip maker Tower Semiconductor Ltd. is looking to raise money to invest in equipment for Fab 2, its 200-mm wafer fab and is considering its strategy for 90-nm production.
Tower (Migdal Haemek, Israel) needs to spend between about $100 million and $150 million to bring in semiconductor production equipment to get it to breakeven, according to Rafi Nave, chief technology officer of Tower. Nave was attending the International Semiconductor Executives Forum organized by the Fabless Semiocnductor Association and the Institution of Engineering and Technology, here.
The fab is currently capable of about 15,000 wafer starts per month but is getting close to running at full capacity, Nave told EE Times. “25,000 wafer starts per month is breakeven,” Nave said. He added that with Tower’s current configuration of equipment each 1000 wafer starts per month requires spending of between $9 million and $18 million depending on the mix of second-hand or new equipment.
Fab 2 is mainly producing 0.18-micron CMOS circuits but the company is starting 0.13-micron processing next month with a prototype for a key customer, Nave said. Moving to 0.13-micron and the higher price that the technology can command should also help Tower get into the black.
E-mail This Article | Printer-Friendly Page |
|
Related News
- Samsung Electronics Unveils Plans for 1.4nm Process Technology and Investment for Production Capacity at Samsung Foundry Forum 2022
- Tower Semiconductor Receives $20 Million of Cash Investment from Israel Corp.
- Tower Semiconductor Signs and Closes Credit Agreements for the Execution of its Capacity Ramp-Up Plan for Fab2
- Tower Semiconductor Announces Expansion of 0.13-Micron Manufacturing Capacity With Purchase Commitment by SanDisk Corporation
- Semiconductor Capacity Is Up, But Mind the Talent Gap
Breaking News
- Numem at the Design & Reuse IP SoC Silicon Valley 2024
- Synopsys Accelerates Next-Level Chip Innovation on TSMC Advanced Processes
- TSMC Celebrates 30th North America Technology Symposium with Innovations Powering AI with Silicon Leadership
- Keysight, Synopsys, and Ansys Deliver Radio Frequency Design Migration Flow to TSMC's N6RF+ Process Node
- Siemens collaborates with TSMC on design tool certifications for the foundry's newest processes and other enablement milestones
Most Popular
- GUC provides 3DIC ASIC total service package to AI/HPC/Networking customers
- Qualitas Semiconductor Appoints HSRP as its Distributor for the China Markets
- Siemens collaborates with TSMC on design tool certifications for the foundry's newest processes and other enablement milestones
- Credo at TSMC 2024 North America Technology Symposium
- Huawei Mate 60 Pro processor made on SMIC 7nm N+2 process