Semiconductor Manufacturers Have Closed 49 Fabs in the last Three Years

Published:2012/2/15 22:02:00 Author:Phyllis From:SeekIC

According to data from market research firm IC Insights Inc, semiconductor manufacturers have closed 49 fabs between 2009 and 2011 in a paring of older capacity capable of processing 200-mm or smaller wafers.

The decline in 200-mm and below capacity picked up speed in 2009 and continued through 2011 as suppliers closed or upgraded fabs that were using smaller wafers in order to produce devices more cost-effectively on larger wafers, IC Insights said.

Some of the fabs closed by semiconductor manufacturers are being refurbished for production on larger wafers or for production of non-IC products, IC Insights said. In the coming years, more companies are expected to shutter older fabs as they transition to the fab-lite business model or become completely fabless, the firm predicts.

21 of the 49 fab closures between 2009 and 2011 were 150-mm wafer fabs, 13 of the closed fabs were 200-mm fabs, 7 were 125-mm fabs, 3 were 100-mm fabs, IC Insights said.

5 of the 49 fab closures were actually 300-mm fabs, IC Insights said. With Qimonda AG going out of business in early 2009, it’s 300-mm fabs became the first 300-mm fabs to cease commercial operations, according to the firm.

By region, according to IC Insights’ Global Wafer Capacity 2011-2012 report, Japan and North America each saw 17 wafer fab closures, while 12 occurred in Europe and three in South Korea. One of the wafer fab closures in Japan was a 30-0mm fab operated by Sony, but this fab is being retrofitted and will return to service to produce image sensors for the company, IC Insights said.

The Qimonda wafer fab, which shut its doors in 2009, was the only 300-mm wafer fab closed in North American from 2009 to 2001. The 3 100-mm fabs to close during the three-year period included fabs owned by Dalsa Semiconductor Inc., ON Semiconductor Corp., and Diodes Inc., IC Insights said.

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