Toshiba has announced it will start the construction of its new BiCS 3D NAND flash memory fab located in the city of Kitakami, Japan. Construction will start in July this year and the fab should become operable in 2019.
Because Japan is in an active seismic zone, the fab will have a quake absorbing structure. An environmentally friendly design and the latest energy saving manufacturing equipment should also make it a 'green' building.
The Kitakami fab will introduce a new way of producing flash memory. The new method involves artificial intelligence and should boost productivity but Toshiba hasn't disclosed further details on the new production method.
Toshiba used to be in a joint venture with Sandisk for NAND flash memory production. Sandisk has now been acquired by Western Digital and Toshiba expects that both companies will continue to invest in the fab together.
