The company says the time is right to construct a new fab as demand for NAND memory is beginning to recover, driven by growth in sales of smartphones and other new applications. It also expects further market expansion in the medium and long-term.
The company had originally planned to start construction in 2009, but a fall in demand owing to the global recession meant the project had to be put on hold.
‘Adding new production capacity will assure our ability to respond quickly and decisively to market expansion and will further strengthen our competitiveness in the semiconductor business,’ the company said.
Toshiba’s Yokkaichi operations currently include four NAND flash memory fabs.
The company aims to complete Fab 5, which will be a comparable size to the existing Fab 4, in spring 2011. It will be an earthquake-absorbing structure and have minimal environmental impact. Energy saving cleanrooms and re-use of waste heat are expected to cut CO2 emissions to a level that will be 12% lower than Fab 4.
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