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Pure-play foundries in China and Taiwan intend to encourage their fabless firms to transition to 12-inch wafer manufacturing as their 8-inch fab capacity has been extremely tight, according to industry sources.

Foundries including Hua Hong Semiconductor, Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), United Microelectronics (UMC) and Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS) have moved to promote their 12-inch fabrication services by offering price discounts to attract orders, the sources indicated. The foundries' 12-inch fab utilization rates have been relatively low compared to 8-inch ones.

These foundries are also considering adjusting upward their 8-inch foundry quotes for the third quarter, said the sources, adding that the move will help narrow the cost gap between 12-inch and 8-inch wafers, which may encourage more fabless firms to accelerate their transition to 12-inch wafer manufacturing.

Suppliers of LCD driver ICs, fingerprint sensors and MCUs, whose orders usually come in large volumes, are being targeted by their foundry partners to upgrade to 12-inch manufacturing process, the sources noted.

Demand for MCUs, MOSFETs, analog chips and LCD driver ICs has been robust amid rampant IoT and automotive electronics applications. China- and Taiwan-based foundries have seen their 8-inch fabs run at full capacity since 2018, the sources continued.

In contrast, production utilization rates at 12-inch fabs have been falling, due to weaker-than-expected demand for mobile devices, as well as a slowdown in orders for crypto mining chips, the sources said.