Intel, Samsung, and TSMC–big players in the fabrication of semiconductors–have announced that they will be collaborating in order to target an industry-wide transition to 450mm wafers starting in the year 2012. Most semiconductors today are manufactured on 300mm wafers–a transition that started in 2001–which was 10 years after the transition to 200mm wafers. Targeting 2012 as the next transition period keeps “in line with the historical pace of growth.” The reasons for this planned transition were spelled