Toshiba Corp. plans to invest an additional ¥40 billion in its semiconductor plant in Mie Prefecture to meet rising global storage demand for smartphones and tablets, according to sources.
The major electronics maker will begin production by summer after equipping the Yokkaichi plant in Mie with state-of-the-art technology, the sources said.
The investment will increase Toshiba's capacity for NAND flash memory chips, which are used to store video and audio data. The company expects demand to grow further for chips that can handle the rapid improvement in the gadgets' capabilities, they said.
Toshiba will work to increase storage capacity while researching miniaturization techniques that will allow the chips to store even greater amounts of data.