Toshiba, SanDisk Open 300mm Wafer Fab

Toshiba and SanDisk have opened Fab 4, a 300mm wafer fabrication facility for NAND Flash Memory at Toshiba's Yokkaichi Operations in Mie Prefecture, Japan. Fab 4 will start mass production in December 2007 and is expected to produce 80,000 wafers per month. It will employ 56-nanometer (nm) process technology at start-up, and plans call for a gradual transition to 43nm technology by March 2008. The fab is a response to increased demand for NAND flash memory used in a range of digital applications like digital media players, mobile phones, PCs, and memory cards. "Fab 4 is testimony to the success of the great partnership and long-term commitment between Toshiba and SanDisk," Eli Harari, Chairman and CEO of SanDisk, said in a statement. "Fab 4 ... will enable us to competitively meet the growing demand for flash storage from our global customers in the years ahead."