[Semiwiki] Intel 450 mm wafers delayed until 2023, other SPIE News

[AtenRa]

Well the industry is not willing to proceed to 450mm wafer migration this decade due to current market uncertainty, Technical delays, slower economics and R&D high cost. Intel may be willing to venture in 450mm wafers but the rest are currently not following.

 

[Nothingness]

Oh don't misunderstand me, I don't say Intel will follow their previous plans and have 450mm for 2018 no matter what their CEO claims, it's just that Intel haven't confirmed the 2023 date and things can change a lot within a couple of years, with less or even more delays.

 

[Unoid]

Well the industry is not willing to proceed to 450mm wafer migration this decade due to current market uncertainty, Technical delays, slower economics and R&D high cost. Intel may be willing to venture in 450mm wafers but the rest are currently not following.

I have a hard time believing all these excuses for no 450mm.

The ONLY difference between 300mm and 450mm is the tooling size and function to accommodate a large circle.

The benefits are obviously there for chip per wafer maximization.

The only reasonable explanation that Intel has for delaying it's 450mm plant is because at the current time, The cost of the new 450mm equipment outweighs the projected margin increase in savings that 450mm yields.

 

[AtenRa]

Oh don't misunderstand me, I don't say Intel will follow their previous plans and have 450mm for 2018 no matter what their CEO claims, it's just that Intel haven't confirmed the 2023 date and things can change a lot within a couple of years, with less or even more delays.

I agree, we dont know if they will migrate to 450mm in 2023, earlier or later.

 

[AtenRa]

I have a hard time believing all these excuses for no 450mm.

The ONLY difference between 300mm and 450mm is the tooling size and function to accommodate a large circle.

The benefits are obviously there for chip per wafer maximization.

The only reasonable explanation that Intel has for delaying it's 450mm plant is because at the current time, The cost of the new 450mm equipment outweighs the projected margin increase in savings that 450mm yields.

That is not the only difference,
Each 450mm wafer could cost 4-5x or even more times the cost of current 300mm wafers. And that price will not go down until the market reach a substantial high volume. And that will only happen after 3-5 years.

Due to uncertain current market conditions, having a not fully utilized 450mm fab could also skyrocket your product manufacturing cost and operation spending's.

Migrating to 450mm wafers is very tricky, especially at this time. Seeing the big boys taking a smaller steps or even pause the development of 450mm then you must realize that it is not that easy as you may believe.

 

[witeken]

http://seekingalpha.com/news/1626573-intel-others-slow-migration-to-450mm-chip-wafers?source=feed

And that confirms the 450mm delay.

Yes it does, from Intel's words, it seems that is isn't because of them, but because the others are getting too far behind them, so they're causing delays in Intel's plans.

It will be interesting to see how long it's delayed and what the economics will be at those extra nodes.