Micron acquires PSMC fab site in Taiwan for $1.8 billion, acquisition to expand the memory maker's operations within the region
The new facility will be Singapore's first double-story wafer fab, which will enable Micron to build it out in iterations and without increasing actual footprint of the fab, which greatly simplifies building out the facility, albeit at the cost of more complex architecture.
The new Fab 10B will be configured in a way to support multiple next-generation 3D NAND manufacturing technologies, including nodes with over 500 active layers, so expect it to be equipped with the latest fabrication tools. In addition to volume production of 3D NAND, the new facility will also be used for R&D purposes, which will greatly simplify process integration and product ramps up. As an added bonus, the new facility will enable Micron to deepen its collaboration with academic and industrial research partners in the region.
Micron says that the new fab will focus on production of high-capacity 3D NAND devices for AI and data center applications, as the company considers these applications its major growth engines going forward. Still, it is necessary to note that the fab will be capable of making all types of 3D NAND devices if Micron needs to in response to future market changes. The current AI boom may or may not last beyond the 10-year timeframe it'll take for Fab 10B to become fully operational, so that versatility is welcome in the face of the typically cyclical nature of silicon demand.
In addition to producing 3D NAND in Singapore, Micron is also constructing an HBM assembly plant in the country. That HBM packaging operation remains on track to contribute materially to Micron's HBM output in calendar 2027.
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