Samsung Breaks Ground for 10nm Flash Chips Fab in China

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new memory fabrication line in Xi’an, China.

Once completed, the new facility will make use of 10nm-class technology in producing NAND flash memory chips, a critical component powering IT and mobile applications for high-speed and large-density data storage. 10nm-class means a process technology node somewhere between 10 and 19 nanometers.

Samsung Electronics vice chairman and CEO Dr. Oh-hyun Kwon hosted the event, which welcomed 600 attendees including government dignitaries such as Zhao Leji, secretary of provincial party committee and director of provincial People’s Congress Standing Committee, and Kyu Hyung Lee, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to China. Other attendees included Sang-Jick Yoon, vice minister for Industry and Technology at the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, as well as hundreds of Samsung suppliers and customers.

Vice premier of State Council of the People’s Republic of China Li Keqiang congratulated the event through a personal letter, noting that the project will move the partnership between the two countries forward within the IT field.

Dr. Kwon said in his remarks during the ceremony: "It is a great honor to announce our groundbreaking at Xi’an, a city of tremendous historic and academic significance, as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and China. At this time, our memory semiconductor business also marks its 20th consecutive year as the leader of the memory industry. The new Samsung China Semicondctor fab will lay a solid foundation for continued supply of leading memory components, enabling Samsung to further spearhead the advancement of the IT industry and enhanced user experiences."

With the groundbreaking, the Samsung China Semiconductor complex has a target timeline for achieving full-fledged operation in 2014. Initially, Samsung is investing $2.3 billion in the Xi’an fab. Samsung China Semiconductor will mark the single largest investment by Samsung in China with a phased total investment of $7 billion.

The capital of multiple dynasties spanning over a thousand years, Xi’an is at the center of development of electronics technology as a primary location in China’s Western Region Development. Xi’an’s industrial landscape supports all key considerations in the production of IT infrastructure such as basic resources including water and power, and an employee base for IT research, development and manufacturing.

Xi’an is home to 37 universities and 3,000 R&D centers focused on IT technology. Samsung has also kicked off a program for close academic collaboration with several renown local universities, which will include scholarships to nurture skilled talent locally.

Just one year after commencing operations at its Line 16 in Hwaseong, Korea, the new Xi’an production facility will help to balance Samsung’s global production network.