Due to limited available capacity, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) both plan to allocate less capacity to their Taiwan-based IP (intellectual property) allies from the second quarter, according to sources.
TSMC formed a design center alliance (DCA) with seven Taiwan-based IC design houses and other international firms to provide verified IPs for customers. The Taiwanese design firms also place orders to TSMC and mostly use TSMC’s 0.35-to 0.18-micron CMOS process.
According to the sources, TSMC has informed some DCA members located in Taiwan that it plans to reduce capacity support by up to 50% starting from May at the earliest. Global Unichip, a TSMC affiliate, said it has not felt capacity tightening. The Taiwan-based DCA members have an estimated combined demand for 5,000 8-inch equivalent wafers per month. However, TSMC fulfilled only 50-60% of this demand in the first quarter.
UMC allies closely with its Taiwan-based affiliate Faraday Technology and two US-based IP vendors, Artisan Components and Virtual Silicon Technology. UMC has not informed Faraday its available capacity for the second quarter, but Faraday expects the capacity will be reduced, according to a source at Faraday.
To cope with the limited available capacity at TSMC and UMC, some of the IP allies have begun seeking support from other Asia-based foundries, sources noted. Some design companies have completed tape-out and should begin production in the second quarter at the earliest.
Background:
TSMC DCA alliance (pdf file)
Article translated by Jack Lu and edited by Jack Lu
