Introduction300mm transition - 300mm Fabs on-line by year forecast - August 2001. (8/8/2001)
At IC Knowledge we track the status of 300mm with our 300mm Watch product. In this article we will update the status of 300mm based on selected data from our 300mm Watch database product. To gain a complete understanding of the status of 300mm and prospects for 450mm we recommend our 300mm Watch product.
300mm Ramp
Early on in the development and ramp up of 300mm wafer fabs a number of observers made statements about the slow rate of the ramp up. In figure 1 we compare the ramp up of 300mm fabs to 200mm fabs. The figure shows the amount of silicon processed on each wafer size as a percentage of the total industry square inches processed versus time from when the wafer size was introduced.
Figure 1 - 300mm versus 200mm ramp up.
Note how in figure 1 the 300mm ramp has followed the same shape over time as the 200mm ramp and is in fact slightly ahead of the 200mm ramp.
Current Status
300mm production currently represents just slighlty less than 50% of all silicon being processed on a square inches basis. There were 65 production 300mm fabs operating at the end of 2007 with 73 due to be on-line by the end of 2008 - see figure 2. Furthermore the 65 fabs operating at the end of 2007 had an installed capacity of 22.79 million wafers per year and by the end of 2008 we forecast that capacity will rise to 29.53 million wafers per year.
Figure 2 - 300mm production fabs on-line and wafer per year capacity.
Conculsion
Contrary to some early statements 300mm has ramped up as faster or faster than 200mm wafers did. 300mm wafers now represent just slighlty less than 50% of all wafer processing on a square inches basis and should exceed 50% by year end. 300mm has been huge success with decreased cost and improved efficencies for the semiconductor manufacturers. The only real lagard for 300mm has been the equipment companies who have sturggled to recoup their investment. The stuggles of the equipment companies is really the single biggest impedement to the devlopment and ramp up of 450mm wafers and needs to be addressed for 450mm to get off the ground.
Related Products
- 300mm Watch - a database covering existing and annouced 300mm fabs with detail on dates, capacity, product types, investment and much more. Also includes discussion and forecasts around 450mm.
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