SMIC expanding 8-inch fab capacity

Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC) held a ceremony recently to mark the start of equipment move-ins at the new facilities of its 8-inch wafer plant in Tianjin, China, according to local media reports.

Located in the Xiqing Economic Technological Development Area, Tianjin, SMIC runs an 8-inch fab with monthly capacity of 45,000 wafers. In October 2016, the China-based IC foundry disclosed plans to commence an expansion project for its Tianjin site, which the foundry claims will become the world's largest 8-inch wafer fab.

According to SMIC, production capacity at its Tianjin site will reach 150,000 8-inch wafers monthly after the completion of the expansion project. The expansion is to support robust demand for fingerprint sensors, power management IC, mixed-signal chips, automotive electronics- and IoT-related solutions.

SMIC has set its capex target for 2018 at about US$1.9 billion compared with the US$2.4 billion last year. SMIC will use its 2018 capex for 14nm FinFET technology R&D, in addition to 8- and 12-inch fab expansions.