Despite Slump in World Economy
Samsung Electronics has decided to ramp up its wafer production capacities for memories and system semiconductors by around 10 percent in 2023.
The company's move is in sharp contrast to those of its rivals such as TSMC, Intel, Micron Technology, and SK Hynix, which all declared a reduction of their investments.
Samsung Electronics will establish new DRAM and semiconductor foundry lines with a capacity of producing 100,000 12-inch sheets of wafer per month at its third plant (P3) in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, by the second half of next year. Pyeongtaek P3 is the world’s largest semiconductor production facility that started operation in July this year.
As for DRAMs, a new facility capable of producing 70,000 sheets of wafer will be added to Samsung’s current lines, which can produce about 20,000 12-inch wafer sheets per month. For reference, Samsung Electronics produced a total of 665,000 sheets of wafer per month for DRAM production in the third quarter. This new facility is expected to mass-produce advanced 12-nm DRAMs recently announced by Samsung.
The Korean semiconductor giant will expand the P3 plant’s wafer production capacity for foundry operation by 30,000 sheets next year. It will run a new 4-nm line. For reference, Samsung Electronics produced a total of 476,000 sheets of wafer per month for foundry operations in the third quarter. Considering that Samsung Electronics operates production plants in Giheung and Hwaseong in addition to Pyeongtaek, its actual wafer production capacity expansion could be more than 30,000 sheets.
Samsung's plan to expand facility investment next year is not limited to scaling up wafer production. It also decided to install more than 10 units of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment for high-tech DRAM and foundry production. It currently has about 40 units of EUV equipment.
Pyeongtaek Plant 1 (P1)’s NAND flash facilities will also be upgraded. The NAND line at P1 is expected to be transformed into a V8 (238-layer) NAND mass-production line capable of processing about 30,000 sheets of wafer. In addition, on the table is a possibility that the new NAND line will be the target for investment in the first stage of Pyeongtaek Plant 4 (P4), where the exterior construction will be completed in the second half of next year. Samsung Electronics’ monthly NAND wafer production is currently around 645,000 sheets, according to Taiwanese market research company TrendForce. As far as semiconductor investment is concerned, Samsung Electronics has decided not to falter from the previous year’s level across all fields.
Samsung Electronics’ aggressive investment is in stark contrast to its competitors that have cringed due to a contraction in global consumption. In fact, US Micron announced on Dec. 21 (local time) that it fixed its facility investment for next year at US$7.5 billion, 37.5 percent less than US$12 billion in 2022. Intel decided to reduce costs by up to US$10 billion by 2025. SK Hynix also announced in October that it would reduce next year’s facility investment budget by more than 50 percent compared to 2022. Taiwan’s TSMC, the top ranker in the foundry industry, also recently announced that it will reduce its facility investment this year by 10 percent compared to the previous plan.
Some analysts say that Samsung Electronics’ bold investment could put pressure on its competitors for the time being. Samsung Electronics has already solidified its position as the strongest player in the semiconductor industry by beating German and Japanese companies one after another during two slumps in the DRAM market in the 2000s.