Toshiba has confirmed that it will be spending some 15 billion yen ($160 million) to build a test production line for advanced flash memory chips.
According to Reuters, the NAND flash memory manufacturer has already ordered chip-making equipment from ASML to build microchips with circuitry widths of less than 25 nanometres.
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The narrower circuitry is expected to allow semiconductor companies to significantly cut production costs by fitting additional storage capacity on a smaller piece of silicon.
Toshiba – which currently manufacturers NAND flash memory chips with circuitry widths of 32 and 43 nanometres – also to plans to begin producing chips with widths in the lower 20 nanometres by 2012.
In addition, the company is slated to begin commercial production of 20-29 (upper range) nanometre NAND chips by the second half of 2010.