United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) has approved a phased manufacturing expansion that will increase cleanroom capacity in Singapore and see construction begin on a new fabrication facility at its flagship campus in Tainan, Taiwan.
Approved by the company's Board of Directors, the expansion is intended to meet growing customer demand while establishing additional manufacturing capacity for AI and edge computing applications.
UMC said the phased approach is designed to reduce future capacity lead times while aligning near-term capital expenditure with long-term customer commitments.
Singapore cleanroom expansion
In Singapore, UMC will invest in the cleanroom installation of its Phase 4 (P4) facility and purchase production tools to expand its silicon photonics capacity.
The company said the P4 building shell has already been completed, allowing cleanroom capacity to be installed efficiently as customer demand increases.
According to UMC, the expansion will strengthen Singapore as its largest manufacturing site outside Taiwan, supporting supply chain diversification and the development of advanced technologies, including silicon photonics.
The latest announcement builds on UMC's Singapore expansion programme, following the award of a $205.3m contract to L&K Engineering in 2023 to deliver the facility's cleanroom and engineering systems.
New Tainan fab
Alongside the Singapore expansion, UMC will begin construction of a new fab building shell at its flagship manufacturing campus in Tainan.
The facility will accommodate the company's future Phase 7 (P7) and Phase 8 (P8) manufacturing operations, creating additional capacity to support customers' long-term product roadmaps.
UMC said the new facility will reinforce Taiwan as its global hub for semiconductor manufacturing and research and development, while expanding its advanced packaging footprint.
"The rise of generative AI has fundamentally shifted the technology landscape, accelerating demand for technologies enabling higher performance, higher bandwidth and greater system integration," said Stan Hung, Chairman of UMC.
He added: "In Singapore, we will invest in the cleanroom installation of the Phase 4 (P4) facility and tool purchases to expand our silicon photonics capacity. With the building shell already built, we can expand cleanroom capacity efficiently as customer demand ramps.
"In Taiwan, we will construct a new fab building which will house future Phase 7 (P7) and Phase 8 (P8) facilities, creating a robust foundation for UMC to scale new technologies alongside customers' long-term product roadmaps."
