Phoenix Silicon International Corp (昇陽半導體), the world’s No. 2 supplier of reclaimed wafers, yesterday broke ground on a NT$2.5 billion (US$76.3 million) plant in Taichung as the company expands capacity to meet rising demand.
The artificial intelligence (AI) boom has boosted the production of advanced chips that power AI servers and other edge devices with AI functions, accelerating demand for reclaimed wafers, Phoenix said in a statement.
AI chips that are made on advanced technologies such as 4-nanometer consume more reclaimed wafers than those with less advanced technologies, as their production requires delicate processing and more equipment testing to ensure optimal yields, the company said.
Photo courtesy of Phoenix Silicon International Corp
Chipmakers use more than two reclaimed wafers for testing and equipment checking to produce one 3-nanometer or 5-nanometer wafer, it said.
Rising consumption of reclaimed wafers after customers start producing 2-nanometer wafers this year is to be a major growth driver for Phoenix, the company said.
About 70 to 75 percent of the company’s reclaimed wafers are used for advanced chips with leading process technologies, it said.
Phoenix plans to expand its capacity by about 23 percent to 800,000 12-inch wafers a year by the end of this year, compared with 630,000 last year, the statement said.
Capacity would rise further when the new Taichung plant starts operating next year, it said.
Reclaimed wafer suppliers usually expand capacity 2.3 times faster than their customers, Phoenix said.
Another driver is customers’ overseas capacity expansion, as one of its key customers is rapidly expanding advanced chip capacity in the US, Phoenix said.
Phoenix did not disclose the name of its customer, but Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) is the only Taiwanese chipmaker that is producing advanced 4-nanometer chips at its first factory in Arizona.
Revenue this year is to expand by a double-digit percentage from NT$3.55 billion last year, the company said.
The reclaimed wafer business accounted for 80 to 85 percent of the company’s revenue in the first half of last year, with wafer thinning making up the remaining 15 to 20 percent, Phoenix said.
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