Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) plans to build a new 300 mm fab in Tianjin, China, investing about $7.5 billion that will focus on mature process technology.
When fully operational, the Tianjin fab will be able to produce a capacity of 100,000 wafers per month at process technology nodes between 28 nm and 180 nm.
China’s largest pure play foundry said that the new fab will focus on emerging market demand for internet of things, data centers, artificial intelligence and new energy vehicles (NEVs).
The Tianjin fab will be the fourth 300 mm fab that is under construction by SMIC.
SMIC has plans to triple its 300 mm production despite recently getting sanctioned by the U.S. government and placed on the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Entity List.
SMIC is currently the world’s fifth overall foundry and has started production of two 300 mm fabs and plans to install additional tools into existing 300 mm fabs that will process wafers using 28 nm and thicker process technologies. Currently, the company can manufacture about 120,000 300 mm wafers per month.
One of these facilities will be built in Shenzhen, where the local government will invest about $2.35 billion in the project. The aim is to produce 40,000 12 inch wafers a month in the Shenzhen fab using advanced processing nodes of 28 nm or higher.
When both fabs are complete in 2025, SMIC will be able to manufacture about 360,000 300 mm wafers per month.
