Its more likely that 180nm fabs are idling so much that they've made the decision to close. There's only so low that the prices can go before these businesses don't think its worth staying in business anymore.
I've heard that over the long term, 28nm should theoretically be the "long term cost-efficient node". The 65nm and other nodes are all cheaper in practice because these factories are fully paid off by now.
It was something about 300mm wafers and overall tooling being shared with 28nm with the latest nodes + overall investments. While 200mm likely will be shutdown over the long term (but 200mm wafers will remain the cheapest solution in the short term).
So under these expectations, I'd say that 180nm, 65nm, and other old nodes will slowly shut down as everyone moves to the long-term most efficient node. Still, having the oldest nodes stay open for the educational / hobbyist / experimental R&D for some commerical companies makes sense. Especially since the wafers are smaller and thus overall runs can be smaller.
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180nm is declining as far as I'm aware.
Its more likely that 180nm fabs are idling so much that they've made the decision to close. There's only so low that the prices can go before these businesses don't think its worth staying in business anymore.
I've heard that over the long term, 28nm should theoretically be the "long term cost-efficient node". The 65nm and other nodes are all cheaper in practice because these factories are fully paid off by now.
It was something about 300mm wafers and overall tooling being shared with 28nm with the latest nodes + overall investments. While 200mm likely will be shutdown over the long term (but 200mm wafers will remain the cheapest solution in the short term).
So under these expectations, I'd say that 180nm, 65nm, and other old nodes will slowly shut down as everyone moves to the long-term most efficient node. Still, having the oldest nodes stay open for the educational / hobbyist / experimental R&D for some commerical companies makes sense. Especially since the wafers are smaller and thus overall runs can be smaller.