Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) will invest $2.87 billion (90 billion New Taiwan dollars) to build an advanced chip packaging plant in Taiwan.
The world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer has made the announcement to meet the increasing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) products. The new packaging plant is expected to create 1,500 jobs.
“To meet market needs, TSMC is planning to establish an advanced packaging fab in the Tongluo Science Park,” the company said in a statement.
The investment was sparked by the fast growth of the AI market which has “driven a surge in demand for TSMC’s advanced packaging,” according to Taiwan’s official Central News Agency report.
Advanved chip pacakging
Advanced packaging involves putting multiple chips in the same package and interlocking them to work as one and to create a more powerful computer chip. It is essential for the production of semiconductors such as for TSMC customers Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices.
A chip is an integrated circuit that has hundreds of millions of transistors on the small form factor chip. And a wafer is a thin slice of material usually in a round shape with a mirror-like finish surface for semiconductor device fabrication.
What is a semiconductor?
Semiconductors are the brains of modern electronics. Also known as integrated circuits, or just chip, these are an essential component of the microchips that power virtually every modern electronic device from smartphones to cars. These chips are made from pure elements, typically silicon or germanium, or compounds such as gallium arsenide.
The five major global semiconductor producers are Taiwan, South Korea, China, Japan, and the United States.
