Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC) held a groundbreaking ceremony in Taichung’s Central Taiwan Science Park for Phase 3 of its Fab 15 GigaFab.

Fab 15, Phase 3 will be TSMC’s second GigaFab equipped for 20nm process technology. The first 300mm GigaFab, Fab 12 module 5, is located in Hsinchu.

Capacity for the Fab 15 Phase 3 is 40,000 300mm wafers per month. In the future, TSMC will make 450mm wafers as well as finFETs at 14nm in Fab 15.

TSMC began construction on Fab 15, Phase 1, in July 2010, and completed equipment move-in in mid-2011 with volume production scheduled for early 2012.

At the same time, Fab 15, Phase 2 started construction in mid-2011 and is expected to begin volume production next year. Fab 15 Phases 1 and 2 are forecast to generate as much as $3 billion in revenue per year once they enter volume production, and Phase 3 will also reach a similar scale in the future. Fab 15 currently employs approximately 1,400 employees.

Billed as a “green” fab, Fab 15, Phase 3 applies numerous pollution prevention and energy conservation methods, including classification of process wastewater into 25 categories, an effective process water recycling rate of 90 percent, water use reduction of 62 percent, and 5 percent less power consumption than earlier facilities.

In addition, Fab 15, Phase 3 has a rainwater collection surface of 40,000 square meters, and all collected rainwater is used in landscaping, consuming no water from public utilities. In addition, TSMC aims to create a benchmark in high-quality green buildings with treatment effectiveness of cleanroom exhaust reaching as high as 98 percent.

TSMC Chairman Morris Chang said: “Fab 15, Phase 3 plays an important role in our plans for advanced technology development and capacity expansion.”

TSMC also announced its net sales for November 2011. On an unconsolidated basis, net sales were approximately NT$35.22 billion, a decrease of 5.4 percent over October 2011 and a decrease of 1.4 percent over November 2010. Revenues for January through November 2011 totaled NT$387.68 billion, an increase of 3.9 percent compared to the same period in 2010.

Tags: 20nm, fab, finFET, Morris Chang, TSMC

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