Analysts: 450mm wafers will arrive eventually

Large chip vendors such as Intel Corp., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Taiwan Semiconductor Co. (TSMC) are clamoring for a migration 450-mm wafers, which would enable them to build more chips per die and increase profits. Now, even some equipment suppliers—many of which have resisted the move to 450-mm—are starting to come around, according to Semico (Phoenix).

"The [semiconductor] industry will not stagnate at the existing 300-mm process technology," said Jim Feldhan, president of Semico, in a recent report. Feldhan predicted that consumer demands for more memory would push NAND and DRAM to increasing product densities, increasing unit volumes. Logic products will continue to move up the performance curve, while offering more features in a system-on-chip or multi-core product, he said.