China's first 300mm chip plant starts production
106874
Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC), China's largest chip maker and also one of the world's biggest contract chip makers, Saturday formally began commercial production at a 300-millimeter semiconductor fabrication plant (fab) in Beijing called Fab 4, the first such facility to open in China.
365689
Semiconductor chips that can manage a good bit of their own upkeep are moving closer to reality.
71769
(InfoWorld) - In a sign ofÂ China's growing importanceÂ as a center of semiconductor manufacturing, Chinese chip makers will spend more than ever before on cutting-edge factories over the next two years. Chinese spending on chip plants will top $9.8 billion between 2006 and 2008, with most of these funds going towards the construction of factories that produce chips on 300-millimeter wafers, industry group SEMI said. If realized, this spending forecast will top combined Chinese spending on chip plants over the last five years, which amounted to $8.7 billion, it said. Around 70 percent of the money that will be spent on new Chinese plants will go towards factories that use 300-millimeter wafers, which will result in an annual increase in production capacity of 16 percent by 2008, SEMI said. At least five new 300-millimeter plants are expected to come online by 2008, it said. While the fast growth of China's market presents opportunities for established chip makers as well as new entrants, established players -- especially those with Chinese government backing and overseas funding -- will fare better over the long term, SEMI said. Leading China's charge forward in chip production is Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., the country's largest chip maker. Among a string of production plants across China, SMIC has one 300-millimeter plant in production and another two under construction in Beijing. The company has also signed an agreement to manage the operations of other plants, including a 300-millimeter fab to be constructed in Wuhan. That agreement helpedÂ spark a lawsuitÂ by rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., which said the deal violated the terms of a 2005 settlement agreement that ended a patent infringement lawsuit brought against SMIC by TSMC. The latest lawsuit is currently pending in a California state court.
284160
TAIPEI, Taiwan  - A Taiwan government committee on  Monday gave the green light to the island's top two memory chip  makers, Powerchip  and ProMOS , to set up  plants in China, local media reported.
6764
As the chip industry heats up, this is the company to watch.
688963
Hewlett-Packard Co. , the world's number-two PC maker, said on Friday it has launched a 3,999 yuan (&#36;483) computer in China, turning up the heat in the intensely competitive market.
670470
Speaking at the Intel Developer Forum Wednesday, Intel president and CEO Paul Otellini announced the development of 15 products built on its 45nm silicon manufacturing technology and showcased the experimental 300mm chip.
642384
(InfoWorld) - Intel broke ground on aÂ new $2.5 billion chip plantÂ in the northeast China city of Dalian on Saturday, with production expected to begin in 2010. The chip plant, called Fab 68, will make chipsets, not microprocessors, when it begins production. It will use 90-nanometer process technology, not the more advanced 45nm or 65nm processes used elsewhere. Intel's investment in Dalian, a port city that hosted the latest session of theÂ World Economic ForumÂ last week, is one of the largest by a foreign corporation in northeastern China, an area that has been hit particularly hard by a transition away from heavy industry in China's economy. Dalian itself has fared somewhat better than neighboring inland cities. The city is a technology hub, hosting some of the country's top software outsourcing firms. Â
689259
Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp., a leading Chinese computer chip maker, plans to begin supplying chips using more advanced technology to major clients such as Texas Instruments Inc. beginning next year, the companies said Friday.
177679
The Chinese government gives Intel permission to spend $2.5 billion on a chip manufacturing plant on China's northeastern coast.
630970
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. will use Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd.'s manufacturing services to produce AMD's Opteron and Athlon 64 processors starting in 2006, adding production capacity as the company starts building chips at its second Dresden, Germany, plant, the companies said Monday.
612133
China, which put its first man in orbit  last year, has built a national engineering and research center  for small satellites, paving the way for large-scale  production, state media said on Wednesday.
457251
A South Korean semiconductor parts maker on Tuesday became operational at a pilot industrial park in the Democratic People&#39;s Republic of Korea (DPRK), reported the South Korean Yonhap News Agency.
538807
Tokyo, Sept. 20 (Jiji Press)--Shin-Etsu Chemical Corp.  said Wednesday it will spend about 120 billion yen to increase its monthly output capacity of 300-millimeter silicon wafers to one million units by autumn 2007.
250839
Intel's first manufacturing facility for producing 45-nanometer processors in high volume will open in October in Chandler, Ariz.
681452
(InfoWorld) - Infineon Technologies has opened its first chip plant in Asia, a $1 billion facility located in Kulim, Malaysia. The Kulim plant will produce power and logic chips used in automotive and industrial applications, Infineon said. The factory will use 200-millimeter wafers to produce these chips, one generation behind the 300-millimeter wafers used by the most advanced chip plants currently in operation. The Kulim plant will have a monthly production capacity of 100,000 wafers and employ a staff of 1,700 when production reaches full capacity, Infineon said. The products that will be produced at Kulim include Infineon's CoolMOS and Smart-Power chips. CoolMOS chips are used in power supplies for PCs and servers as well as in mobile-phone battery chargers to improve power efficiency and reduce heat, Infineon said. The Smart-Power chips are used in automotive applications, finding their way into a range of systems, including anti-lock brakes and airbags.
560920
Upcoming chips will lead to relatively inexpensive hardware, company says.