Taipei, Nov. 10, 2008 (CENS)--Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) recently announced it had introduced 0.13-micron process for 1.5-volt, 6-volt and 32-volt drive ICs for mobile phone LCD screens, and would shift the production from 200mm wafer fabs to 300mm.

Industry watchers pointed out that such shift in production process suggests 300mm fabs will rise as the mainstream for the products, replacing 200mm fabs.

TSMC`s executives pointed out that the process would meet the rising demands for mobile Internet-connection devices that use high-resolution displays driven by 1.5-volt, 6-volt and 32-volt ICs. The process will further shrink circuitry on chips, making them fit into smaller applications. TSMC adopts aluminum and copper alloy as the interconnect metal in the process, making the ICs energy-saving and miniscule.

For a long time, the chips have been built on 200mm and 150mm wafers using 0.5-micron and 0.18-micron process technologies. However, excessive competition has considerably driven down prices of the mature processes. To further cut costs, major Taiwanese drive-IC suppliers have begun designing the products on 0.175-micron and 0.13-micron rules on 300mm silicon wafers.

Some industry watchers predict that 200mm foundries like Vanguard Semiconductor International Corp., He Jiang Technology and Nanya Technology Corp. would lose chip supply contracts to 300mm foundries.

(by Ken Liu)