Toshiba on December 13 confirmed plans to invest 350 billion yen over four years starting in fiscal year 2003 (April 2003-March 2002) to build two 12-inch fabs, one making system LSIs and the other memory chips.
The 12-inch system LSI fab will be constructed near Toshiba"s 8-inch fab in Ooita Prefecture in the Kyushu region of Japan starting fiscal 2003. Volume production is scheduled for fiscal 2004. The fab will target broadband network applications and is expected to adopt 45nm technology in the future, said the company in a statement.
The 12-inch memory chip fab, making NAND flash memory, will be built near Toshiba"s 8-inch fab in Yokkaichi, Aichi Prefecture, with volume production starting in fiscal 2006.
The company is reportedly in talks with Fujitsu and Sony regarding joint investment in the planned 12-inch fab in Ooita.