Taipei, May 16, 2008 (CENS)--In a bid to migrate to 450mm wafer manufacturing, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) plans to start building a 450mm wafer fab in 2010.

TSMC, currently the world`s No.1 pure silicon foundry, has launched its 450-nm wafer program and chosen a site in the Hsinchu Science Park that was originally for a 300mm fab for the planned factory.

TSMC Chairman Morris Chang pointed out that investment in the 450mm fab would cost as much as US$5 billion in consideration of the spending over the next six year on research and development of 32-, 22-, and 15-nanometer process technologies.

Industry watchers pointed out that the co-announcement of the technological roadmap represented TSMC was keeping abreast with world`s top chipmakers in technological advance and inspired the imaginations that the three chip-making heavyweights might work together in the future.

Although TSMC has been a technological trailblazer in Taiwan`s chip-making industry, it has never been a leader of world chip industry. Although it was first Taiwanese chipmaker to build 200mm wafer fab, Intel was the first 200mm fab operator worldwide. Although TSMC owns Taiwan`s first 300mm fab, its 300mm roadmap advances slower relative to that of world`s leading chipmakers.

Up to now, TSMC has snatched up over 60% of global market of silicon foundry service depending on 300mm tools and over 85% of the market depending on 65nm process technology. Migrating to 450mm and 22nm technologies is estimated to help TSMC fortify its leadership in global silicon-foundry industry.

World` s Top Three Chipmakers and Their 450mm Fab Plans

Company	Intel	Samsung	TSMC
Plant location	Hillsboro of Oregon	Undecided	Hsinchu Science Park
Data for ground break	2010	2012	2010
Product	Microprocessors	NAND Flash	Foundry microprocessors

Sources: The companies

(by CENS)