Posted on Wednesday, December 18 2019 @ 15:57 CET by Thomas De Maesschalck
AnandTech
writes about rumors that Samsung is planning to significantly expand its 3D NAND production capacity in China. The South Korean giant will reportedly spend $8 billion to expand an existing facility in Xi'an, China.
Physical expansion of the Xian production facility will allow Samsung to further increase its 3D NAND bit output, giving Samsung more physical capacity and helping to offset the longer and more intensive manufacturing process required for high layer counts in 3D NAND. According to a media report, Samsung's Xian fab can now process 120,000 wafer starts per month. After the expansion, it will reportedly increase its output to 130,000 wafer starts per month, but it is likely that these will be 3D NAND wafers with a higher number of layers.
The fab in Xi'an is Samsung's only 3D NAND production site outside of South Korea. The company also has two plans in its home country, one in Hwaseong and one in Pyeongtaek.
