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TSMC Outshines UMC in Leading-Edge Process Competition

2009/02/13 | By Ken Liu

Taipei, Feb. 13, 2009 (CENS)--While Taiwan Semiconductor Co., Ltd. (TSMC) is projecting to depend on 45-nanometer and 40-nanometer processes for around 2% of its revenue in the middle of this year, United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) will be just starting pilot production with 45nm process in the meantime.

TSMC, currently the world's No.1 pure silicon foundry, raked in NT$17.4 billion (US$527 million at US$1:NT$33) from sales of its 65nm process service in the fourth quarter last year and has planned to put its low-power 32nm process into volume production by the end of this year.

Although its sales from 65nm process service were down over 1% in the fourth quarter this year from a quarter earlier, TSMC remained the leading supplier of the advanced process service of all the foundry suppliers including UMC.

Industry watchers estimated although the silicon-foundry industry will likely plunge 35% worldwide in 2009, the four foundry suppliers-TSMC, UMC, Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd. and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Co. (SMIC)-would still focus R&D efforts on leading-edge processes this year.

Battered by the global economic recession, all the four foundries are estimated to plunge in recession this quarter.

Top Four Foundries And Their 65nm Process Shipments

Foundry

TSMC

UMC

Chartered

SMIC

Q4 '08 Revenue

NT$64.5B

NT$18.5B

NT$11.9B

NT$9.2B

65nm Sales As A Percentage of Revenue

27%

8%

23%

0%

65nm Revenue

NT$17.4B

NT$1.4B

NT$2.7B

0

Resources: The companies