Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has said it remains flexible on its yet-to-be-built "Fab 16" supporting equipment used to make chips on 18-inch wafers. The foundry also indicated that it would consider constructing later phases of expansion at Fab 15 compatible with production equipment for 18-inch wafers.
TSMC admitted its transition to the next wafer size will come behind schedule, as some of the tools needed are not yet ready, as well as the market's unreadiness.
Nobunaga Chai, analyst for semiconductors at Digitimes Research said in a previous report that TSMC might prefer to build its first 18-inch production fab rather than a fourth 12-inch fab.
TSMC recently revealed plans to construct a new 12-inch fab called Fab 16 in 2014. It is also set to begin equipment move-in for the 12-inch phase-1 facility of Fab 15 in June 2011, with volume production slated for the first quarter of 2012.