Fujitsu in foundry talks with Taiwan's WSMC
By Sandy Chen
Electronic Buyers' News
(04/15/99, 04:03:26 PM EDT)
In another move to shift its commodity DRAM production to outside IC-wafer foundries, Japan's Fujitsu Ltd. is in discussions to form an alliance with Taiwan's Worldwide Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (WSMC), according to local sources.
Under the proposed plan, Hsinchu-based WSMC is in talks to build 64-Mbit DRAMs and related memory products on a foundry basis for Fujitsu, sources said. In total, foundry startup WSMC may build up to 10,000 wafers per month for Fujitsu, they added.The proposed deal represents Fujitsu's ongoing plan to shift its commodity DRAM production to outside foundries in order to focus more on higher-value memory products. In recent times, the Japanese company has struck alliances with three foundries in Taiwan. For some time, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC) has been building DRAMs on a foundry basis for Fujitsu. Currently, TSMC is making 64-Mbit, 0.22-micron DRAMs for the Japanese company.
Earlier this year, Fujitsu struck similar alliance with another local foundry startup, Acer Semiconductor Manufacturing Inc. (ASMI), Hsinchu. As part of the deal, Fujitsu's licensed it 64-Mbit, 0.22- to 0.2-micron DRAM technology to ASMI.
A spokesman for ASMI said the Taiwan company will make about 10,000 wafers per month for Fujitsu starting in the second half of 1999.
Formed in 1994, WSMC is one of the new and emerging foundry players in Taiwan. WSMC, whose investors include Winbond Electronics Corp. and the China Development Corp., a Taipei-based venture capital company, recently acquired logic-chip process technology from Toshiba Corp. WSMC will make select products on a foundry basis for Toshiba, as well.
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