Kioxia to expand 3D flash memory capacity with new fab
Memory specialist Kioxia says it will will start constructing a new fabrication facility (Fab2) at its Kitakami Plant in Iwate Prefecture, Japan in order to expand the of production of its 3D Flash memory BiCS FLASH.
Construction of the facility is currently scheduled to start in April 2022 and is expected to be completed in 2023.
The company says in a press release that the new Fab2 facility will utilise AI-based manufacturing to increase production capacity of the entire Kitakami Plant – which, according to Kioxia, will allow the company to expand its business organically and take advantage of the medium to long term growth of the flash memory market.
The new Fab2 facility will be built on the east side of the existing Fab1 facility at Kitakami Plant, and will have an earthquake-resistant architectural structure.
“The construction of Fab2 is a key milestone for Kioxia to further strengthen our strategic development and production capability for advanced memory products, so that we are in an even better competitive position to address the increasing market demand for memory products,” says Nobuo Hayasaka, President and CEO, Kioxia, in a press release.
Kioxia says it plans to hold discussions with Western Digital in regard to expanding the flash joint venture to the Fab2 investment.
“We are pleased to announce that Fab2 will not only increase production capacity of Kioxia, but will also serve as an important base for implementing the kind of high level and sustainable operations that Kioxia strives to achieve going forward,” Nobuo Hayasaka continues.
In an emailed statement to Evertiq, a spokesperson from Kioxia said that the building area for Fab2 will be 31,000 square metres. However, the company could not disclose any specifics regards the targeted capacity or staffing plans related to the expansion.
When asked about the size of the investment related to the expansion the spokes person said: ”We cannot reveal our investment plan though, in general, it will require approximately 1 trillion yen to build this size of semiconductor fab.”