***NEC to Build 200 Billion Yen Chip Plant in U.S.
(January 4)
According to Kyodo News International, NEC plans to build a
semiconductor plant in the United States at a cost of about 200
billion yen. The plant will be built on the site of a plant in
Roseville, California, run by NEC Electronics, a NEC subsidiary
based in Santa Clara, California.
The plant will manufacture large-scale integrated circuits whose
minimum circuit width will be only 0.13 micron, by making use of
silicon wafers that measure 12 inches in diameter. At present, 8-
inch silicon wafers are the mainstay. The use of 12-inch wafers
will enable microchip makers to cut production costs as more
chips can be made from a single wafer. The plant will be able to
manufacture up to 28,000 chips a month and will start mass-
production in April 2003.
Wave Issue 0101 1/4/01 Article 3-03