Mon, Sep 11, 2023 page12

• Micron invests in Taichung fab

  EXPANDING: Micron Technology Inc has been manufacturing 1-beta node DRAM chips in Japan since October last year, with its Taiwan fab now following its lead

  • Staff writer, with CNA
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  Taiwan has a well-established ecosystem for producing semiconductors, which is why Micron Technology Inc has decided to produce its most advanced DRAM chips in the country, corporate vice president and head of Micron Taiwan Donghui Lu (盧東暉) said in an exclusive interview with the Central News Agency.

  Micron Technology announced in May that it would mass produce DRAM chips on its most advanced 1-gamma node in its fab in Taichung in 2025, ahead of any other production site worldwide.

  The 1-gamma node would use cutting-edge extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography production equipment. It would be the first Micron DRAM process node to use EUV technology. The process was jointly developed by Micron research and development teams in Taiwan and Japan.

  

  Micron Taiwan head Donghui Lu poses for a photograph in Taipei on Sept. 3.

  Photo: CNA

  Despite the debated geopolitical risks and calls for the “de-Taiwanization” of chipmaking, Lu said that Micron’s investment strategy has not changed, adding that he does not believe these negative sentiments have clouded Taiwan’s prospects in the industry.

  “If you can beat your competitors in terms of product quality to the point where there are no alternatives, there is no need to worry because silicon never lies,” Lu said.

  The Micron Taiwan head said high bandwidth memory (HBM) and 1-beta and 1-gamma process technology all cost money that can only be spent in Taiwan.

  HBM is a new type of 3D memory that vertically stacks memory chips. It is designed to keep up with the performance and power efficiency of resource-intensive applications such as data centers and artificial intelligence.

  Micron’s HBM has been facilitated by the 1-beta DRAM process node, which is followed by the latest 1-gamma node.

  Taiwan and Japan are the only two production sites for Micron’s DRAM. More than 65 percent of Micron’s DRAM products are manufactured in Taiwan. The Japanese fab started mass producing 1-beta node DRAM chips in October last year, with its Taiwan fab following suit.

  Production capacity is expected to expand in the two countries over the next few years, Lu said.

  There are several reasons that Taiwan would remain an important investment destination for Micron, he said.

  One is that Taiwan’s ecosystem is well-established, and it is difficult for other countries to achieve the same level in the span of a few years, he said.

  Another reason is that the semiconductor industry has a long history in Taiwan, so the government, local enterprises and human resources are all highly familiar with the industry, Lu said.

  With many countries readjusting their view of the global supply chain following the COVID-19 pandemic, and amidst continuing US-China tensions and the rebranding of the semiconductor industry as a national security priority, supply chain localization is on the rise.

  Micron responded to the US government’s calls for domestic manufacturing by making major investments in the US last year. Many worried that the company’s investments in Taiwan would be adversely affected as a result.

  However, Lu said the chip industry is globalized and Micron has customers all over the world.

  The company would continue providing services to its customers with advanced techniques and would not leave Taiwan for geopolitical reasons, he said, adding that Micron would also continue to grow in Japan and the US to build a more resilient supply chain and be closer to its customers.

  Taiwan has a clear advantage in keeping foreign investment, he said.

  “While the US and Europe both want to build their own supply chains, Taiwan has spent 40 years achieving the scale it has now. It is an achievement of accumulation that cannot be achieved in one leap.”
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