Apr 13 2006
Toshiba Corporation and SanDisk Corporation have announced that they have agreed to build a new 300-millimeter (mm) wafer fabrication facility at Toshiba's Yokkaichi Operations to meet fast growing demand for NAND flash memory. The announcement underlines NAND flash memory's position as the storage technology of choice for mobile products and digital consumer devices, including MP3 music players and memory cards for mobile phones, and Toshiba and SanDisk's determination to retain a leading position in this fast expanding market.
The companies plan to start construction of the new facility in August 2006, with initial production operations scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of calendar year 2007. Toshiba will fund construction of the building, while both Toshiba and SanDisk will provide funds for the manufacturing equipment. Fab 4 will be similar in size to the Fab 3 300-mm wafer facility now in operation at Yokkaichi.
The two companies started operation of a state-of-the-art 300-mm wafer fab, Fab 3, in summer 2005, at Yokkaichi Operations, and have proactively boosted the facility's capacity to meet market demand. This announcement reflects the companies' recognition of the need for construction of a new facility, in parallel with expansion of Fab 3, in order to meet anticipated demand for NAND flash memory products in 2008 and beyond.
http://www.toshiba.co.jp/