INDUSTRY NEWS

Bad vibes: Taiwan train route derails Winbond's plans for 300-mm fab site

A Taiwanese government decision to route a high-speed railway line next to a popular industrial park has forced Winbond Electronics to seek another site for a planned 300-mm fab. The chipmaker worried that vibrations from trains passing Tainan Science-Based Industrial Park would cause yields to drop at the DRAM fab. Winbond scheduled the plant opening for the first quarter of 2004. The chipmaker hopes to find a new site by the end of April and expects to keep the start date, says Mike Liu, public relations manager in charge of all corporate communications for Winbond in Taiwan.

Once completed, the $3.6-billion fab will run 0.11-µm processes for 1-Gb DRAMs. Winbond plans initial production runs of 10,000 wafers per month. At full capacity the plant will process at least 30,000 wafers monthly. Toshiba will receive the bulk of that production capacity as the primary customer for Winbond's DRAMs.

The $14-billion railway is scheduled to begin operating in 2005. The rail line passes approximately 1000 feet from the proposed Winbond fab site. A consultant reportedly brought in to make a vibration assessment determined the fab had a high risk factor. In addition, some equipment suppliers said they could not assure Winbond that their tools would withstand vibrations from the passing trains. The chipmaker determined that even a small drop in yield could cost the company as much as $40 million annually.

Liu, Winbond's corporate PR manager, said in mid-March the company was searching for a site in northern Taiwan but still could build the fab in Tainan, which is located in southwestern Taiwan.

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