Powerchip Semiconductor breaks ground on new Taiwan fab

The new fab will have a total capacity of 100'000 wafers per month and the current plan is that it will be put into production in stages starting in 2023. Once completed the fab is expected to create more than 3,000 new jobs in the Hsinchu and Miaoli areas and generate over NTD 60 billion (EUR 1.78 billion) annually when fully utilised. In a press release the semiconductor foundry states that the new fab’s operating model will be based on mature processes and technologies, paving the way for the semiconductor industry to challenge Moore’s Law (Reverse-Moore’s Law). Powerchip chairman, Dr. Frank Huang, points out in the press release that the rapid increase of new demand for automotive, 5G, AIoT and other chips has already caused structural changes in the global industry. At present, the market’s demand for mature-processed chips has exploded, and the demand for chips in the future will be further intensified. Therefore, Moore's Law, which in the past used advanced process technology to reduce costs and earn profits by must be revised. The goal of the "reversed-Moore’s Law" approach is to change the unbalanced supply chain structure where the wafer manufacturer bear great financial, technical, and operational risks. "Wafer manufacturing and other upstream and downstream peripheral industries must establish a new cooperation model of profit sharing and risk sharing in order to keep the semiconductor industry healthy and sustainable," the press release reads. As stated earlier, the total production capacity of this 12-inch fab is 100'000 wafers per month; and Powerchip states that the process technology will cover 1x to 50nm.