Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) plans to begin installing production equipment at its 20nm-capable facilities on April 20, about two months ahead of schedule.

Following the equipment move-in, TSMC is expected to tape out SoC products at 20nm around the end of the second quarter with initial capacity of 5,000 12-inch wafer starts per month, the report cited unnamed fab tool suppliers as indicating. The new technology node is set to enter volume production in the third quarter with monthly capacity reaching more than 10,000 wafer starts, the report said.

TSMC internally set a target of growing its capacity for 20nm products to 30,000-40,000 wafer starts monthly by the end of the first quarter, 2014, the report noted.

TSMC in April 2012 disclosed that its 20nm technology would begin volume production at Phase 6 of its Fab 12 wafer fab (Hsinchu, northern Taiwan) in 2013, and Phase 5 of Fab 14 (Tainan, southern Taiwan) will be the foundry's second 20nm-capable fab, which is scheduled to enter volume production in early 2014.

TSMC also began construction on Phase 3 of Fab 15 (Taichung, central Taiwan) in September 2011. The module will be TSMC's second gigafab equipped for 20nm process technology. The foundry has not provided a timeframe to volume produce 20nm products at Phase 3 of Fab 15, but already set the initial capacity at 40,000 wafer starts per month.

By: DocMemory
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