Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (TSMC) yesterday announced that its board of directors have approved a $2.5 billion USD budget to expand 300mm wafer processes.

The board approved a $2.25 billion appropriation for the expansion of 300mm wafer capacity, as well as wafer-level CSP processes. The remaining $254 million was approved to expand TSMC’s production facilities to host improved production.

The recent vote is likely to be TSMC’s last effort to improve 300mm yields and production before beginning a migration to a 450mm process in 2012. The switch to 450mm is expected to bring about considerable per-die savings on the cost of fabrication by significantly improving TSMC’s throughput.