14 DAY TRIAL // The chip industry has been talking about the move to 450mm production wafers for a couple of years now, and it seems like this transition is finally set to happen as analysts believe this move seems now inevitable.
According to a report by the Future Horizons market research firm cited by Xbit Labs, the transition is powered by the joint efforts of semiconductor manufacturers as well as by the support received from some governmental organizations.
The most important moment in the acceptance of 450mm wafers happened in the first quarter of 2011 when both Intel and TSMC announced they intend to move to this chip production technology.
Furthermore, Globalfoundries and IBM are also interested in such wafers, while Samsung has already hinted at its plans to use the larger wafers in its fabs.
All the efforts from chip manufacturers are also supported by some government organizations, such as the European Commission which started to investigate the benefits of setting up 450mm semiconductor manufacturing in Europe, while the New York State subsidized investment in a 450mm tool prototyping complex in Albany.
Previously, the biggest obstacle for semiconductor manufacturers in the adoption of 450mm fabs was the equipment suppliers reluctance to develop the tools needed, as they still haven't managed to get the profit anticipated from the switch to 300mm.
450mm wafers can fit approximately 1.8 times more chips than their current 300mm counterparts, which should help decrease the production costs for CPUs and other devices built using such wafers.
TSMC plans to introduce its first production line for 450mm wafers in 2013, 2014 while its first such fab is expected to go live in 2015 or 2016.
As far as Intel is concerned, the Santa Clara-based company is getting ready to start 450mm research and development at its D1X lab in 2013.