Taipei, Sept. 7 (CNA) U.S.-based Micron Technology, Inc., a global leader in advanced semiconductor systems, announced Wednesday plans to increase investment in manufacturing in Taiwan in the next few years, according to the Commercial Times.

In the report, the company said that it plans to invest US$2 billion in Taiwan per year over the next 3-5 years for upgrading production processes and building a back-end site for DRAM manufacturing. It will recruit 1,500 employees in the next 18 months, said Wayne Allan, vice president of global manufacturing, in Taipei.

Noting that Micron has invested over US$12 billion in Taiwan, Allan said the company attaches great importance to its investment in the DRAM supply chain in Taiwan and expects it to account for two-thirds of its total production capacity, the report said.

The company has previously announced a plan to create a center of excellence for leading-edge DRAM in Taiwan, which is aimed at integrating the manufacturing technology and capacity of the company's original fabs in Taichung and Taoyuan.

It is also building a back-end site adjacent to Micron's existing Taichung fab, bringing the company's fabrication and back-end together in one location, according to the report.

The Taichung fab has begun mass production of 1X-nano (18-nanometer) process DRAM, and the Taichung fab will start production next year. In the future, the production process will be upgraded to 1X/1Z-nano.

According to Allan, Micron has begun adopting smart manufacturing technologies and big data, which has helped it increase production capacity by 20 percent. 

(By Evelyn Kao)
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