SEMICONDUCTOR
UPDATE
June 2009
McIlvaine Company
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Freescale Celebrates Opening of New Business and Technology Center in Guadalajara
Globalfoundries, AMD's Fab Spin-Off
GE Healthcare Announces Opening of Digital Mammography Production Facility
S Korea's Hynix to Set-up China Chip Processing Unit
INEX Breathes New Life into Semiconductors Industry
Infinera Corporation Opens New Facility in Pennsylvania for Optical Systems
Luxtera Announces World’s First Commercial Silicon CMOS Photonics Fabrication
MPI Opens Test Service Lab in Taiwan
Hemlock Semiconductor Brings New Polysilicon Capacity Online for Solar and Semiconductor Industries
Freescale Semiconductor is on the move in Latin America, expanding its business and technology center in Guadalajara and growing its engineering and design capabilities in Mexico to serve global markets. Marking the occasion of its expansion, Freescale celebrated the opening of its new 65,000-square-foot facility in Tlaquepaque, a municipality within Guadalajara. This facility triples lab and office space for applications engineering, chip design and tech support teams
“Establishing this state-of-the-art business and technology center in Guadalajara solidifies Freescale’s commitment to Latin America and will help us to continue attracting and retaining world-class digital and analog chip talent in the region,” said Rich Beyer, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Freescale. “Freescale Mexico’s applications engineering and semiconductor design teams enhance our support for our customers around the world and help strengthen our global leadership in embedded processing. The opening of this new facility is a proud day for all of Freescale.”
The new Freescale Mexico Business and Technology Center is three times larger than the company’s previous facility in Guadalajara and offers nearly 22,000 square feet of additional space for future expansion. The facility currently houses more than 250 Freescale collaborators and is large enough to accommodate more than 500 people with state-of-the-art laboratories for medical, automotive, appliance and multimedia applications.
Freescale engineers at the new facility focus on applications development using embedded processors and microcontrollers, sensors, RF, analog and mixed-signal ICs for the networking, automotive, consumer and industrial markets. The facility also houses customer service and post-sales support, direct and channel sales, field quality engineering, finance, information technology computer-integrated manufacturing, supply chain, marketing and Mexico government relations staff.
“We maintain a strong technical talent pipeline through our university relations program in Mexico and have had excellent government support during the last five years,” said Germán Hernández, Mexico country manager for Freescale. “Freescale has attracted some of the best and brightest minds in semiconductor design and embedded software development in the region, thanks to our many years of active support and collaboration with leading universities throughout Latin America.”
Freescale has maintained a strong presence in Mexico since its first Latin American facility opened in Guadalajara in 1968. Over the years, the company has continued to expand its technology and sales presence throughout Mexico. In 2004, Freescale consolidated its IC design center operations in Guadalajara.
Freescale also has a world-class design center in Campinas City, Brazil, near São Paulo. The Brazil Semiconductor Technology Center (BSTC) plays a key role in the company’s advanced microcontroller designs for automotive and industrial applications and serves as a strategic design resource for the joint development program between Freescale and STMicroelectronics.
Guadalajara, Mexico's second largest city, is known as the “Silicon Valley of Mexico” because of its flourishing electronics industry. A center for software and informatics development, Guadalajara is considered to be Mexico's high-tech capital. Leading high-technology companies such as Freescale, General Electric, IBM, Intel, Hitachi, Hewlett Packard, Siemens and Flextronics have facilities in Guadalajara or its suburbs. In its 2007 survey "Cities of the Future,” fDi Magazine ranked Guadalajara as No. 1 among major Mexican cities and lauded it for having the second strongest economic potential of any major North American city behind Chicago. fDi also ranked Guadalajara as the most business-friendly Latin American city in 2007.
New York Governor David A. Paterson announced that an agreement on a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) has been reached between Globalfoundries and local labor, allowing construction to move forward on one of the most advanced semiconductor manufacturing facilities in the world and one of the largest private sector industrial investments in New York State. The PLA between the Greater Capital District Building and Construction Trades Council AFL-CIO and M+W Zander – the firm working on the Fab 2 project was signed to finalize the labor peace agreement.
After the intervention of Governor Paterson, the two parties negotiated over the last several weeks to work out the details of the construction agreement that takes into account the unique requirements of this world-class facility. Under the Agreement, local building trades have pledged not to strike or engage in other actions that would impede construction.
“As we move New York State into the New Economy, public-private partnerships will be critical in reshaping the economic landscape. Bringing economic development like this not only creates jobs and leverages private investment, but it positions New York as a technology giant,” said Governor Paterson. “The collaboration of Globalfoundries with the local building trades is a model of the private sector and organized labor working together.”
The construction project will take approximately two years to complete and an additional 12 to 18 months to reach full operating mode. The Globalfoundries project is expected to create approximately 1,400 new direct semiconductor manufacturing jobs, with an average annual salary of $60,000 per year and an estimated annual payroll of more than $88 million. This project is expected to create an additional 5,000 indirect jobs in the region with a sustained estimated total payroll for both direct and indirect jobs of $290 million per year.
An immediate boost to the region’s economy, the total capital budget is estimated at approximately $4.2 billion, including local construction expenditures of approximately $800 million. Construction is expected to create approximately 1,600 new construction jobs, plus an additional 2,700 local construction-related jobs.
This new announcement allow Globalfoundries to begin construction on the 1.2 million square foot chip fabrication plant, which is larger than what was originally envisioned. The plant will produce a 22 nanometer chip, which is two generations ahead of the 45 nanometer chip, which is the current cutting edge chip. The development of the site will allow for the potential building of up to three additional chip fabrication plants.
Globalfoundries has officially pledged to start construction of New-York-state plant targeting bleeding-edge 32nm and smaller-process silicon.
The company said it sent a formal commitment letter to the state of New York for the construction of Fab 2 facilities at the Luther Forest Technology Campus in Saratoga County, New York. Globalfoundries' missive officially initiates the construction phase of the plant, as well as lets the state know it’s time to start issuing bonds to pay for development of the $4.2bn plant.
Fab 2 compliments Globalfoundries' cornerstone wafer bakery, Fab 1, in Dresden, Germany. The company believes Fab 2 will be the world's first 300mm fab designed for 32nm technologies and the largest economic development project in the history of New York state.
The purchase of 223 acres of the 1,350-acre technology campus is set. Construction is expected to take two years to complete and an additional 12 to 18 months to swing into full operating mode. Volume production is expected in 2012.
The site is expected to create about 1,400 new indirect semiconductor manufacturing jobs at full scale production with an estimated annual payroll of more than $88m. Total capital budget for the project is about $4.2bn, including local construction expenditures of approximately $800m.
"It was three years ago this month that we announced plans to build and operate the most advanced semiconductor manufacturing facility in the world in upstate New York," said Globalfoundries chairman Hector Ruiz in a statement.
"We have worked hard to develop this project while reinventing our overall business strategy and ultimately launching Globalfoundries as a new company."®
In preparation for officially breaking ground in July, Globalfoundries also announced today it has:
Completed the Development Agreement with the Town of Malta and the Town of Stillwater. Through the Development Agreement the company will contribute $5 million, including $1 million towards the creation of a 32-acre public recreation field complex. The remaining $4 million will be used to establish two independent foundations designed to provide dedicated funding for future community enrichment programs in each town.
Authorized M+W Zander to award the site development bid. The site development work, also referred to as “clearing and grubbing,” will begin on Monday, June 15 and will prepare the site for full-scale construction, including the official groundbreaking ceremony planned for July.
Scheduled the closing of the transaction to purchase 223 acres of land from LFTC for Wednesday, June 10.
“This project represents the largest public-private sector industrial investment in New York State history. As we work to recover from the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, the thousands of new jobs and billions of dollars in capital expenditures this project brings will have an incredible impact on our reinvestment and recovery strategy in New York,” said Governor David Paterson. “I want to thank Hector Ruiz and his team at Globalfoundries for their commitment to this important project and their commitment to the State of New York.”
The construction project is expected to take approximately two years to complete and an additional 12 to 18 months to ramp to full operating mode, with volume production anticipated in roughly 2012. The Fab 2 project is expected to create approximately 1,400 new direct semiconductor manufacturing jobs at full scale production with an estimated annual payroll of more than $88 million. In addition, the project is expected to create approximately 5,000 new indirect jobs in the region with a sustained estimated total annual payroll of $290 million per year for all jobs.
The total capital budget for this project is estimated at approximately $4.2 billion, including local construction expenditures of approximately $800 million. Construction is expected to create approximately 1,600 new construction jobs, plus an additional 2,700 local construction-related jobs.
GE Healthcare, a provider of transformational medical technologies and services and business division of General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), announced the opening of its new, state-of-the-art digital mammography production facility at the Rensselaer Technology Park, New York, USA.
The company said that the new 230,000 square feet facility will add 150 high paying manufacturing jobs in Rensselaer county with an annual payroll of USD10m.
Investment in the facility totals over USD165m, including a capital grant of USD10m from New York state.
The new facility will focus on 'Clean Technologies' and the building has achieved USGBC LEED Gold Certification, reportedly making it one of only two semiconductor manufacturing facilities in the US to achieve this status.
The new production facility will manufacture and transfer GE's revolutionary digital x-ray technology to all over the world, GE said.
South Korean firm Hynix Semiconductor Inc. (KSE:) announced plans to form a Chinese joint venture for handling second-stage memory chip production.
The new company, based in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, will be owned by Hynix and a local industrial development group. The chipmaker will hold a 45 per cent stake in the joint venture, which will be capitalized at US$150 million.
Hynix will sell equipment from its South Korean and Chinese facilities to the Wuxi company for roughly US$300 million. By transferring a portion of chip packaging and testing processes to the new firm, it aims to reduce capital investments by more than two trillion won (US$1.6 billion) over five years. The parent will focus on the first stage of chip production and on R&D.
Hynix raised about 700 billion won through a public offering. The move was prompted by the firm's 1.17 trillion won group net loss for the January-March quarter in the face of plunging prices for memory chips.
The perhaps less renowned UK semiconductor industry could be set to receive a breath of fresh air, with the news that Newcastle-based company INEX intends to invest in developing microtechnology in the North East, UK.
Surging revenues will apparently see the company create up to 70 jobs, as it bids to turn the North East into an international epicenter for nano and microtechnology development.
After achieving revenue growth of 145% last year, Newcastle University-owned INEX is hoping to breathe new life into the region’s once-thriving semiconductors industry.
The company currently employs around 30 people and aims to bring this number up to 100 by 2012. It is also hoping to act as a catalyst which could turn the North East into a hub for high value, specialist electronic devices, microsystems and nanotechnology.
INEX has already begun to grow a portfolio of international clients, including a contract with a French company, and is currently in negotiations for a deal with a Japanese firm.
Managing Director Ken Snowdon said, “The semiconductors industry has suffered decline in the UK. This is associated with the transfer of production of components to lower cost facilities offshore. INEX is growing because it is targeting high-value consumer markets.”
“We can bring the North East to the attention of other parts of the UK, Europe and the rest of the world and the fact that our customers come to the North East to work with us puts the region on the map as a leading developer and provider of microsystems.”
When thinking of the semiconductor industry, thoughts are probably diverted to the electronics hub in the North Pacific Rim, where Japan, Taiwan and China lead the way in high technology and the gases required to supply these lucrative production processes.
Such rapidly emerging applications have caught the eye elsewhere, however. INEX was launched in 2002 on the back of the findings of the Regional Economic Strategy, which outlined nano and microtechnology as potentially lucrative industries for the North East economy in future.
Its facility has been specially adapted with the installation of cleanrooms, packaging and test facilities, analytical and bioscience laboratories, and an associated business incubator.
Infinera Corporation opened a new facility in Allentown, Pennsylvania to accommodate growing demand for its innovative optical systems based on photonic integration. The opening was marked with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and celebration attended by local Pennsylvania officials.
The new larger building is required to accommodate Infinera's expansion of research and development, and manufacturing in Allentown. At Allentown, Infinera designs and assembles optical modules housing Infinera's large-scale photonic integrated circuits. Infinera's photonic integrated circuits carry Internet traffic in long-haul and metro core optical networks, delivering new levels of scalability, speed and flexibility to Internet traffic.
Infinera co-founder and chief marketing and strategy officer Dave Welch recounted Infinera's growth from a small start-up company to its position today as the leader in the North American long-haul optical networking market, with 960 employees worldwide, including more than 700 at its U.S. facilities in Sunnyvale, CA, Allentown, PA, and Annapolis Junction, MD. He said the company intended to continue to focus on innovation to deliver value to customers, and to invest in the U.S.
Infinera's new facility encompasses 43,000 square feet of office and manufacturing space and employs 84 people including skilled technicians and engineers. The Infinera DTN is the first optical networking system powered by photonic integrated circuits. Deployed worldwide in long-haul and metro core networks, the Infinera DTN combines high-capacity DWDM transport, integrated digital bandwidth management, and GMPLS-powered service intelligence in a single platform.
About Infinera
Infinera provides Digital Optical Networking systems to telecommunications carriers worldwide. Infinera's systems are unique in their use of a breakthrough semiconductor technology: the Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC). Infinera's systems and PIC technology are designed to provide customers with simpler and more flexible engineering and operations, faster time-to-service, and the ability to rapidly deliver differentiated services without reengineering their optical infrastructure. For more information, please visit www.infinera.com.
Luxtera, the worldwide leader in Silicon CMOS Photonics, announced its collaboration with Freescale Semiconductor as its foundry source to achieve production of the world’s first commercial Silicon CMOS Photonics semiconductor manufacturing process. For a number of years, the companies collaborated on enhancing Freescale’s SOI CMOS semiconductor fabrication process, at its Austin, Texas manufacturing facility, to add photonic circuit capabilities to an existing 130nm electronics manufacturing process. This new photonically enabled CMOS fabrication process enables development and manufacturing of low cost Electro-Photonic Integrated Circuits (EPIC) bringing CMOS Photonics to mainstream markets ahead of the competition. Silicon CMOS Photonics is widely recognized as the key enabler of the next-generation of data-networking, computer, multi-core processor, and consumer electronics products.
Silicon CMOS Photonics technology enables design and manufacturing of optics and electronics on a single CMOS die. This process combines standard transistors for digital and analogue electronic circuitry with passive nano-photonic optical structures, as well as monolithic integration of active photonic device elements and enables direct fiber-to-the-chip attachments. The new fabrication process allows the production of integrated single chip transceivers for a multitude of applications. These CMOS Photonic transceivers offer better performance, increased reliability, and reduced power consumption of opto-electronic circuits at a fraction of the cost of traditional optical assemblies.
“By enabling the production process of Silicon CMOS Photonics devices, we are showcasing our forward thinking in advanced semiconductor manufacturing,” said Vivek Mohindra, senior vice president of strategy and business transformation of Freescale. “Luxtera is an industry leader in the development of optical CMOS technology. Collaborating with Luxtera, we have become the first fabrication facility to enable the manufacturing of optics and electronics on a single CMOS chip and meet the high volume, low cost application needs of the communication and consumer markets. We are ahead of the competition by achieving the production status and shipping of commercial Silicon CMOS Photonics products based on this process.”
“Luxtera has pushed the forefront of the technology and is recognized as the world leader in the field of Silicon CMOS Photonics. By achieving volume production status in Freescale’s commercial foundry, we have now demonstrated that CMOS Photonics has emerged from research and is now fully ready for mainstream commercial adoption,” said Greg Young, president and CEO of Luxtera. “A key element of our technology is that we enable both optical and electronic circuits on a common mainstream CMOS process, which is the industry’s first. Our Silicon CMOS Photonics technology platform provides us with unprecedented levels of cost, performance, power and reliability in optical systems from gigabits to terabits of data.”
Luxtera is currently applying this process technology to deliver low cost opto-electronic transceiver products for a number of high performance computing, data communications, and consumer electronics markets. The adaptation of Luxtera’s technology by Freescale demonstrates the company’s flexibility to customize its manufacturing processes to applications that have large market potential for growth. Luxtera is also involved with projects funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) program to develop next-generation optical interconnects to produce chip-to-chip and intra-chip interconnect technology for high performance computing systems.
ATMI, Inc. (Nasdaq:ATMI) announced plans to double its global production capacity of ultraclean, disposable bioprocess vessels for life sciences applications through upgrades and modifications to its North American manufacturing facility in Bloomington, Minn. The site, which supplies products for the integrated circuit (IC) and flat panel display (FPD) markets, adds a Grade B (Class 100) cleanroom for fabricating complex three-dimensional storage, mixing and bioreactor vessels for life sciences customers. In addition to maintaining its current IC and FPD operations, the plant upgrade will entail creation of an on-site quality testing laboratory.
"ATMI has been developing and manufacturing one-time use mixing, reactor and storage solutions for the life sciences market for the past few years," said Doug Neugold, ATMI Chief Executive Officer. "As a result of successfully placing multiple qualification units with key North American customers -- and their increasing application of this technology in development and manufacturing -- we're accelerating our investments for production here."
The company will continue its present manufacturing of bioprocess vessels at the ATMI LifeSciences plant in Belgium. By using copy-exact methods from that facility, the company can swiftly replicate a CGMP (Current Good Manufacturing Practices) operation in Minnesota and bring it online -- effectively doubling its global bioprocess vessel capacity. The time-frame targeted for qualifying North American production is 4Q 2009; commercial products are expected to ship in 2010.
"Our customers have asked us to provide them with greater disposable bioprocess vessel capacity, along with global contingency and continuity of supply for their critical ultraclean bioprocess storage, mixing and bioreactor vessels," said Mario Philips, General Manager of ATMI LifeSciences. "Increasing our manufacturing footprint addresses the rapidly increasing demands of the biopharmaceutical marketplace."
Beyond its new Grade B cleanroom, the upgraded North American facility will house a bio-burden test laboratory to analyze and manage sterility levels in the manufacturing environment. With these additions, ATMI continues to capitalize on its proficiency in semiconductor, clean- room and ultrapure manufacturing and to leverage that expertise in the life sciences market.
About ATMI LifeSciences
ATMI LifeSciences is a leader in single-use mixing, storage, and bioreactor technology, fluoropolymer-based products, and custom-engineered, flexible packaging solutions. The business's fundamental knowledge of polymers, specially selected resins, and its cleanroom manufacturing experience coalesce to help drive optimum performance in critical disposable process operations.
About ATMI
ATMI, Inc. provides specialty semiconductor materials, and high-purity materials handling and delivery solutions designed to increase process efficiencies for the worldwide semiconductor, flat panel, and life sciences industries.
ATMI and the ATMI logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Advanced Technology Materials, Inc., in the United States, other countries or both.
MJC Probe Inc. (MPI) has opened an advanced characterization, modeling and reliability testing laboratory supporting its collaboration with SUSS MicroTec. The laboratory will be supported within the Chain Logic International Corp., a subsidiary of MPI, with advanced test equipment and capabilities.
"To ensure speedy execution of this new lab, we have established a technical advisory board with worldwide semiconductor testing talent." States Brian Green, chairman of MPI. "This team and respective facility will bring Chain Logic to a higher level in technical support for Taiwan's semiconductor industry. Our vision is to have world class support for the local IDMs, foundries and fabless organizations which require state of the art measurement capability within their newest development projects."
The facility will be housed within the Chain Logic facility and will also support MPI's advanced development efforts on product lines, to include the probe card technologies for high frequency production applications.
"We are pleased to support these new projects as they will take our relationship with MPI and Chain Logic to the next level." Says Rob Carter, VP sales and marketing for SUSS MicroTec Test Division. "In addition, the SUSS MicroTec Test Division market share in Taiwan is disproportionately low when compared to that of the rest of the world. Supporting these efforts is the next step in our strategic plan which enables the Test Division to gain significant market share (more than 25 percent) in Taiwan against our major competitors."
Hemlock Semiconductor Group is a leading manufacturer of polysilicon, the key raw material used in most solar cells and semiconductor devices. (PRNewsFoto/Dow Corning Corporation)
The Hemlock Semiconductor Group, which includes two Dow Corning joint ventures, has commenced operation of a new 8,500 metric tons polycrystalline silicon (polysilicon) production facility at its Hemlock, Mich. location.
This new capacity, which has been brought online several months ahead of schedule, represents the completion of the first phase of the $1 billion expansion the Michigan site announced in May of 2007. The second phase of this capacity expansion will begin to come online in 2010 and, together with the first phase, will increase the total annual capacity to approximately 36,000 metric tons.
"The new capacity from our latest expansion is a critical milestone to ensure our customers' confidence that they will have the silicon feedstock needed for the semiconductor and fast-growing solar energy industries," said Hemlock Semiconductor Group President and CEO Rick Doornbos. "It takes a tremendous team effort to be able to deliver an expansion of this magnitude ahead of schedule, and we're very proud of our team for making it happen."
In the last five years, Hemlock Semiconductor has announced investments totaling more than $4 billion. These investments will expand Hemlock Semiconductor's capacity by nearly 10 times while creating more than 1,500 new jobs. These jobs are in addition to the 1,000-1,800 construction contractors on site every day.
"Despite the economic recession, the long-term outlook for the solar market remains strong," said Doornbos. "Our demonstrated capabilities to deliver recent capacity expansions on or ahead of schedule and our more than 40 years of technical and manufacturing experience puts Hemlock Semiconductor in a strong position to help our customers succeed in an industry that continues to show promise and growth."
"This latest achievement is the result of outstanding planning and execution by our team with a strong focus on safety from start to finish," said Jim Cross, site manager of Hemlock Semiconductor's Michigan site.
Later this year, Hemlock Semiconductor Group will also begin construction of a new polysilicon manufacturing facility in Clarksville, Tennessee, which is scheduled to be operational in 2012. Excavation has already begun at the site.
In solar applications, polycrystalline silicon is the cornerstone material used to produce solar cells that harvest renewable energy from light rays. In addition to serving the solar energy market, polysilicon is also used in the production of semiconductor devices used in computers, cell phones and other electronic applications.
Dow Corning Corporation (www.dowcorning.com) provides performance-enhancing solutions to serve the diverse needs of more than 25,000 customers worldwide. A global leader in silicon-based technology and innovation, offering more than 7,000 products and services, Dow Corning is equally owned by The Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) and Corning, Incorporated (NYSE: GLW). More than half of Dow Corning's annual sales are outside the United States.
The Hemlock Semiconductor Group (www.hscpoly.com) is comprised of two joint ventures: Hemlock Semiconductor Corporation and Hemlock Semiconductor, L.L.C. The companies are joint ventures of Dow Corning Corporation, Shin-Etsu Handotai and Mitsubishi Materials Corporation. Hemlock Semiconductor is a leading provider of polycrystalline silicon and other silicon-based products used in the manufacturing of semiconductor devices and solar cells and modules. Hemlock Semiconductor began its Michigan operations in 1961 and broke ground at its Tennessee location in 2009.
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