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.
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.
