TSMC Considering Building First Chip Plant in Japan, New Chip Packaging Plant in U.S.

[Tsing]

Image: TSMC



Owing to its status as the world’s reigning contract chipmaker, TSMC continues to be wooed by foreign countries into expanding its manufacturing beyond its home base of Taiwan. According to sources with Nikkei Asia, the Japanese government is the latest to seek TSMC’s presence and expertise, having launched a proposal for a potential 12-inch wafer plant located in Kumamoto that could switch between various process technologies (e.g., 28 nanometer, 16 nanometer). This plant would be located close to one of Sony’s plants and “help meet growing demand for image sensors, automotive microcontrollers, and other chips.” In a separate report, Nikkei Asia revealed that TSMC is also considering building a semiconductor packaging facility in the U.S for integrating different types of chips onto wafers. This would be TSMC’s first chip packaging plant outside of Taiwan...

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