12-inch fab still being mulled over, says Macronix

TAIPEI, TAIWAN: After it had hinted at a possibility of buying out a 12-inch fab through some form of partnership, mask ROM and NOR flash maker Macronix International Company (MXIC) is now looking at means to set up a 300mm wafer fab.

The company, according to a Digitimes report quoting Macronix International chairman Miin Wu, is currently weighing all options to establish a 300mm (12-inch) wafer fab. He has also said that the least preferable choice is to construct a new one on its own.

It has been pointed out that Macronix might have its own 12-inch fab in the form of a final plan by the current year-end. Meanwhile, the industry grapevine is rife with talk that Macronix has already submitted an application to acquire land at the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP) for constructing a new 12-inch fab.

If sources are to be believed, Macronix would initially invest pump in an amount in the range of US$304 to 608 million for sprucing up output at its own 12-inch fab by year 2010. However, company officials have not revealed anything more on this.

There is also talk that the memory chip company is also exploring ways to take over a 12-inch fab from Powerchip Semiconductor Corporation or ProMOS Technologies. These two companies, incidentally, have ended up beleaguered due to cash crunch.