Phoenix Silicon International Corp, the world's largest supplier of reclaimed wafers, announced an investment of NT1.85billion(approximatelyUS60.59 million) to construct a new plant in Taichung, Taiwan. This investment is a measure to accelerate production capacity expansion and proactively meet the explosively growing market demand.
The new plant, named 'FAB3B', is targeted to begin mass production in 2028. FAB3B is expected to have an installed production capacity of 600,000 12-inch wafers per month. Alongside this, Phoenix Silicon also plans to double the production capacity of its existing Taichung plant, FAB3A, from the current 300,000 wafers per month to 600,000 by next year. This aggressive expansion plan is expected to be a key driver in solidifying Phoenix Silicon's leading position in the global reclaimed wafer market, which it secured by surpassing Japan's RS Technologies Co.
Growth Driven by Increasing 2nm Process Demand
The growth of the reclaimed wafer market is attributed to changes in the advanced semiconductor manufacturing environment. Specifically, the surging demand for chips used in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and High-Performance Computing (HPC) applications has increased the need for wafers used for testing and equipment checking.
According to Phoenix Silicon, approximately 2.7 reclaimed wafers are required for testing to produce one 2-nanometer (nm) process wafer, which is an increase in demand compared to the 3-nanometer process (2 wafers). Currently, 70% to 75% of the reclaimed wafers supplied by Phoenix Silicon are being used in the production of advanced chips of 5 nanometers or less. This indicates that customer demand is far exceeding the company's expectations.
Global Market Growth and Expansion into Advanced Packaging
Reclaimed wafers enhance cost-efficiency by replacing expensive new wafers and meet the industry's demand for eco-friendly manufacturing. Due to these factors, the global silicon wafer reclaim market is showing robust growth, projected to expand to $1.7 billion by 2035 with a steady compound annual growth rate of 5.9% to 6.9%. The Asia-Pacific region, home to major foundries and electronics manufacturers in Taiwan, South Korea, China, and Japan, is especially driving this market growth.
In addition to reclaimed wafers, Phoenix Silicon has expanded its business scope by entering the advanced packaging market through the provision of wafer thinning services. The company holds approximately a 20% market share in the wafer thinning market within Taiwan. Bolstered by this strong market demand and proactive investment, Phoenix Silicon achieved excellent performance in the first nine months of this year, recording NT$3.29 billion in revenue, a 31.53% increase compared to the same period last year.
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