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Taiwan passes S. Korea in semiconductor wafer production

March 2, 2016
(Newsis)

(Newsis)

SEOUL (Yonhap) — South Korea fell behind Taiwan in terms of wafer production in December last year, data showed Wednesday, reflecting a possible weakening in the production capabilities of local chipmakers.

According to the industry tracker IC Insights, Taiwan took up 21.7 percent of global wafer production, hovering slightly above South Korea’s 20.5 percent in December.

A wafer refers to a thin slice of semiconductor fabricated with integrated circuits that is used as the base material for memory chips. Wafer capacity is considered a gauge for chip production by a manufacturer.

Japan followed with a share of 17.3 percent, trailed by North America, China and Europe with 14.2 percent, 9.7 percent and 6.4 percent, respectively.

Taiwan’s production of wafers first surpassed Japan in 2011. The country is home to various foundry chipmakers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC).

South Korea currently stands as the top player in the production of the latest 300mm wafers, while Taiwan and Japan lead in 200mm models.

One Comment

  1. Live Chat Software

    January 31, 2017 at 6:00 AM

    Oh that’s great job taiwan. Nice to know about this.

    Reply