
Denso joins TSMC’s Japanese wafer fab club
TSMC, Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corp. and Denso Corp. have announced that automotive supplier Denso will take a minority stake in Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing, Inc. (JASM).
JASM is TSMC’s majority-owned manufacturing subsidiary in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. The fab was agreed upon with Sony Semiconductor as a major partner. Now Denso will make an investment of US$350 million and hold an equity stake of more than 10 percent, TSMC said. Sony had previously agreed to invest US$500 million.
Construction of the 300mm wafer fab is due to begin in the 2022 calendar year with production set to begin before the end of 2024.
To accommodate Denso TSMC will install a 12/16nm FinFET manufactring process in addition to the previously announced 28nm and 22nm manufacturing processes. Also the manufacturing target has been increased to 55,000 wafer starts per month.
The total capital expenditure to equip JASM’s Kumamoto fab is now estimated to be approximately US$8.6 billion but with strong support from the Japanese government.
“TSMC is very glad to welcome Denso’s participation in JASM to enable fresh innovations in the future of transportation together,” said CC Wei, CEO of TSMC, in a statement. “JASM is not only an opportunity for TSMC to support growing market demand for specialty technologies, it enables us to leverage Japan’s top-notch semiconductor talent and contribute to the growth of the global semiconductor ecosystem.”
Koji Arima, CEO of Denso Corp. said: “Through this partnership, we contribute to the stable supply of semiconductors over the medium to long term and thus to the automotive industry.”
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