Samsung to Upgrade 8" Memory Fab Over Next Year
Samsung Austin Semiconductor recently announced that it will upgrade its existing eight-inch semiconductor fabrication plant to a state-of-the art 12-inch facility. The upgrade will necessitate current Fab 1 operations to stop in October to allow reconstruction of the manufacturing area and the re-equipping of the tool set. Samsung's Fab 2, a two-year-old 12-inch wafer fabrication facility, will remain fully functioning while the scheduled remodeling of Fab 1 will begin next year with the new facility ready for initial operation in 2010.
"The conversion of the old 8-inch plant to a new 12-inch facility is good news for Austin," said Mike Rollins, President of the Austin Chamber.
An economic analysis of such a conversion and the operation of the complex as a 12-inch fab show that the total economic impact, including the ripple effect throughout the community, would likely be about $1.3 billion annually and create as many as 5,500 jobs with an estimated payroll of $196 million.
See Austin Human Capital for story.