Semiconductor manufacturers STMicroelectronics and Hynix Semiconductor have officially opened the doors of their joint front-end memory-manufacturing facility in Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province, China.

The new leading-edge facility, which will manufacture both NAND flash and DRAM memories, is the result of the existing collaboration between Hynix and ST. The companies said they expects the Wuxi fab to accelerate ST's advancement in the NAND flash market, as well as provide high-performance, cost-competitive DRAM chips for use in system embedded solutions, stacked with flash memories. They also expect the new fab to expand Hynix's 300mm manufacturing capacity and strengthen its position in the world's fastest-growing Chinese semiconductor market.

Hynix currently holds the number one position of DRAM sales in China with a market share of approximately 47 percent, based on the most recent data from market research firm iSuppli, the companies said. With the completion of the Wuxi fab, Hynix has another global manufacturing site in addition to its fab in Eugene, Oregon.

The companies laid the first stone at the Wuxi site in April 2005. Set on a 550,000 sq. meter site area with a clean-room space of 20,000 sq. meters, volume production at the 200mm and 300mm manufacturing lines began in July and October, respectively. Currently, production of DRAM is in 90nm and 110nm process technologies, at the 200mm line and 80nm in the 300mm line. By the middle of next year, the lines will start to produce NAND Flash in addition to the current production of DRAMs in state-of-the-art technology. The 200mm line is today producing 50,000 wafers per month and the 300mm line is expected to generate at capacity 18,000 wafers per month. The split among products and memory densities will depend on market conditions.

The $2 billion joint-venture fab is financed with one-third of the equity from STMicroelectronics and two-thirds of the equity from Hynix, and a financing package from Chinese local institutions and STMicroelectronics.

The joint-venture company employs about 2000 people, the majority of whom have been recruited from the local workforce.

"A joint venture of this magnitude is likely to be the largest of its kind between a Korean and European company," Carlo Bozotti, president and CEO of STMicroelectronics, said in a statement.

"With the completion of the Wuxi fab, Hynix has established a global manufacturing network that connects Korea, the United States and China," O. C. Kwon, senior VP of strategic planning at Hynix Semiconductor and chairman of Hynix-ST Semiconductor Ltd., added in a statement.

According to the most recent report from iSuppli, the DRAM market is expected to grow 24.4 percent this year, recording revenue of $30.9 billion, and the NAND flash market is expected to grow 17 percent in 2006, with revenue of $12.6 billion.

By: DocMemory
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