Infineon Technologies Dresden GmbH has purchased real estate and manufacturing facilities from the insolvency administrator managing the assets of Qimonda Dresden GmbH & Co. OHG, Dr. Michael Jaffé, for a total sum of Euro 100.6 million. The real estate borders directly on the Infineon premises in Dresden, Germany. The purchase of real estate covers cleanroom and manufacturing facilities as well as 300mm manufacturing equipment of the former Qimonda Dresden GmbH & Co. OHG and forms part of the company's strategic capacity expansion.

The insolvency administrator had kept the cleanroom facilities operational after the insolvency proceedings were opened. Infineon now takes over the full remaining items of property and manufacturing facilities. With this purchase Infineon secures 300mm manufacturing equipment that forms an important basis for potential volume production of 300mm power semiconductors. Infineon Technologies AG is currently working on a development project to assess the use of 300mm wafers for manufacturing power semiconductors on thin wafer technology. For this purpose a pilot line is set-up at the company's site in Villach, Austria. Some of the machinery now acquired will be used for completion of the pilot line in Villach. Infineon will decide about the start and the location of a 300mm volume production during the current fiscal year.

Based on this transaction and the further expansion of capacity due to continued strong order intake and a healthy level of orders on hand, Infineon is increasing the capital expenditure budget for the 2011 fiscal year from approximately Euro 700 million to Euro 850 million. In the 2010 fiscal year, the volume of capital expenditure was Euro 325 million. The company defines capital expenditures as expenditures in property, plant and equipment, and intangible assets including capitalized research and development costs.

GlobalFoundries Invests in Abu Dhabi Fab

Chip foundry Globalfoundries Inc. plans to invest $6 to $8 billion on a semiconductor fab in Abu Dhabi that will break ground in 2012 and begin producing chips in 2015, according to a report.

The report, which quotes executives from Globalfoundries' Abu Dhabi-based parent company, Advanced Technology Investment Co. (ATIC), indicates that ATIC is actively searching for other investment opportunities outside the semiconductor industry. The firm has already evaluated and rejected three investment opportunities worth between $3 billion and $5 billion, according to the report.

ATIC and Globalfoundries have talked of building a fab in Abu Dhabi since ATIC and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) struck a deal to create Globalfoundries through the spinoff of AMD's manufacturing arm in 2009. Last year, the Wall Street Journal reported that ATIC would spend up to $7 billion to build a fab in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

The report arose from a meeting in Abu Dhabi between executives of Globalfoundries, AMD, and ATIC, which is now a subsidiary or Mubadala Development Co. According to a statement issued by ATIC, the executives gathered to showcase Abu Dhabi's role in future high-tech computing, including details on AMD's upcoming 32nm Fusion accelerated processing unit (APU), code-named "Llano." The chip will be manufactured for AMD by Globalfoundries.

"The manufacturing of the upcoming Llano APUs are a great proof point to the strategic investment partnership between ATIC, Mubadala, AMD and Globalfoundries in this increasingly global industry," says Ibrahim Ajami, CEO of ATIC. "Through investments in Globalfoundries' Fab 1 facility in Dresden, Germany—where the Llano APU is manufactured—ATIC is driving advances in technology that will meet increasingly sophisticated customer demands and market needs."

According to the report, Globalfoundries will invest about $5.5 billion this year to expand plants in Singapore (formerly Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd.), Dresden, and New York state.

Ultratech Plans Center in Taiwan

Ultratech, Inc. lithography and laser-processing system supplier to semiconductor and high-brightness LED (HB-LED) makers, announced an Asia Technology Center (ATC) in Taiwan.

Ultratech Chairman and CEO Arthur W. Zafiropoulo noted that many Pacific Rim-based customers will come to the facility to develop processes and lithography equipment advances to reduce the cost of manufacturing LEDs. In addition, the facility will be used to provide yield research as well as low-cost patterning solutions.

The integrated cleanroom enables leading-edge process development and in-depth demonstrations of Ultratech's Sapphire 100 lithography system, designed for customers in the emerging HB-LED market. Based on the 1500 platform, the next-generation Sapphire 100 system provides a 1X lens design and market-specific technology options for high-volume, HB-LED manufacturing.

Scheduled to open in the second half of 2011 on Taiyuan Street, Chupei Li, Hsinchu City, the ATC will support and share process development with Ultratech's Singapore international operations facility, which was announced in late 2010. It will serve the Pacific Rim client base.

Ultratech, Inc. designs, manufactures and markets photolithography and laser processing equipment.

Wuhan Agreement for 12 inch Fab

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) and Hubei Science & Technology Investment Group announced the formal signing of a joint venture agreement to invest in and manage Wuhan Xinxin Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation's 12-inch wafer production line. This represents a new phase in the ongoing cooperation between SMIC and the government of Wuhan. The National Development and Reform Commission, The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, China Development Bank, Hubei province and Wuhan city government officials, SMIC President and CEO David N.K. Wang and others were in attendance at the signing ceremony.

In October 2010, both parties reached a cooperation framework agreement, and have since continued to work towards a final agreement. After receiving high-level support from the central and Hubei province governments, and the approval of the board of directors of both companies, the joint venture agreement was officially signed.

SMIC has been rapidly upgrading Wuhan Xinxin's production technology. 65nm logic process technology has already been transferred to Wuhan Xinxin's 12-inch production line, all manufacturing key performance indices have reached international standards, and customer qualification and pilot production have begun. This successful technology transfer will contribute to the development of the Wuhan fabrication facility into an advanced international foundry.

Wuhan Xinxin's 12-inch production line is running at full capacity, with increased high-end product output and enhanced profitability. The joint venture will prioritize corporate responsibility and profitability in its business development plans. It will primarily manufacture 65-45 nanometer integrated circuits, with a goal of achieving a production capacity of 45,000 wafers per month within five years. This fabrication facility will serve as a strategic component in SMIC's expansion plan, and will become a key contributor to the Chinese and global semiconductor industries as a reliable platform for high-end chip manufacturing.

SMIC will expand its cooperation with the city of Wuhan in areas such as training, chip design and industry supply chain improvements, to advance the economic development of Wuhan's "Optics Valley" and raise the level of the information technology industry in Hubei Province. It will be an innovative engine driving the strategic development of the East Lake Hi-Tech Zone into a National Innovation Model Area and the "Optics Valley of China."

SMIC will inject $1 billion into the as yet unnamed JV and hold a 66.66 percent stake, according to the announcement. Hubei ST will hold the remaining 33.34 percent stake in exchange for $500 million.

The JV will be operated by Wuhan Xinin Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp., a subsidiary of Hubei ST founded in 2006.

The JV will manufacture integrated circuits sized between 45 nanometers (nm) and 65 nm. It aims to produce 45,000 wafers per month within three years of its establishment.

Hubei ST is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Wuhan East Lake Hi-Tech Development Zone Administrative Committee.

Founded in 2000, SMIC is dual-listed in New York, U.S. and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It has three 300-millimeter (mm) wafer fabrication facilities (fabs) and five 200-mm fabs in China.

Aftershock Stops Production at Several Japan Fabs

A strong 7.1-magnitude earthquake that shook an area 330km north-northeast of Tokyo on April 7 forced several Japanese electronics companies to halt manufacturing operations at their facilities. The firms reported to have suspended production include Fujitsu Ltd, Renesas Electronics Corp., Sony Corp., Elpida Memory Inc., Toshiba Corp., Nikon Corp. and Tokyo Electron Ltd (TEL).

Fujitsu has suspended operations at its chip fab in Iwate prefecture, according to a report. The company recently reported that partial operations have already resumed in the Iwate fab since the original 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that rocked Japan March 11. Fujitsu was checking on the status of its back-end semiconductor packaging facility in Miyagi prefecture, which had partially resumed operations March 23.

Fujitsu was also checking on the status of a production facility that makes products for computers and printers in Fukushima prefecture.

A Renesas spokesperson said manufacturing had been halted by power loss at four fabs in northern Japan, including two MCU fabs. The spokesperson said power had been restored to one plant, but that it was not clear when manufacturing would be restarted.

Renesas had only recently restarted partial operations at several of the fabs that were knocked off line by the March 11 quake. As of March 28, operations had partially restarted at four of the five front-end chip fabs that were knocked off line by the March 11 earthquake. The company's Naka fab in Ibaraki prefecture, which sustained heavy damage, is not expected to be back in limited production until July.

Two Sony plants in northern Japan were halted by a power cut in the region following the aftershock. The plants, which produce optical devices, IC cards and other products in Miyagi prefecture, had just resumed partial operations March 28 after being knocked off line by the March 11 quake.

Manufacturing was briefly halted at the Sony Shiroishi Semiconductor Inc. laser diode manufacturing facility in Miyagi prefecture, which had just partially restarted operations for the first time since the March 11 quake, but that production there had resumed following inspections.

Elpida, Japan's only DRAM maker, reported that manufacturing was halted at its Akita Elpida plant due to power outage. There was no damage to the manufacturing equipment at Akita, Elpida said, adding that normal business operations would resume as soon as electricity was restored. Elpida's Hiroshima plant suffered no damages because it is located in Hiroshima in the southwest of Japan, far from the northeastern regions hit by the earthquake, Elpida said.

The power blackout was affecting Toshiba's MCU fab in Kitakami, Iwate prefecture. A spokesperson for Toshiba told Reuters that it was not clear whether the aftershock would delay the restart of the Kitakami fab, which was scheduled for April 11.

Nikon suspended production at two plants in Miyagi prefecture and the company is assessing the damage. Miyagi Nikon Precision Co., which makes devices for IC/LCD steppers and scanners, resumed operations late last month following the March 11 quake.

TEL halted operations at three plants in Miyagi and Iwate prefectures, according to the Bloomberg report, which quoted a Tokyo-based TEL spokesperson. TEL recently said that operations had just resumed March 28 at its etch systems plants in Matsushima City, Miyagi prefecture and its RLSA etch development institute in Sendai City, Miyagi prefecture.

The April 7 quake—an aftershock from Japan's March 11 Great Tohoku Earthquake that measured 9.0 on the Richter scale—struck 40km below the seabed. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the epicenter of the quake was 330km north/northeast of Tokyo, 66km east of Sendai, 113km east of Yamagata and 116km east/northeast of Fukushima.

Samsung Sees U.S. Growth

Samsung Austin Research Center (SARC) announced plans to hire 30 chip designers in 2011. The Center also announced that it will move mid-summer to a location independent of the Samsung Austin Semiconductor site.

"The growth of SARC since it was founded a little more than a year ago has been remarkable," Keith Hawkins, vice president, Samsung Austin Research Center, said. "What started as a nimble team has evolved into a full-fledged Austin-based chip design center."

SARC was launched on March 30, 2010. SARC currently employs approximately 80 front-end and back-end chip designers. It is actively seeking an additional 30 chip designers in 2011. Ideal applicants range from new graduates to seasoned professionals holding a master's degree in electrical or computer engineering.

Samsung Austin Semiconductor executives note that these new hires are in addition to the 300 engineers and technicians that the company is hiring in the first six months of 2011 as part of the $3.6-billion expansion of the semiconductor's plant. Samsung Austin Semiconductor currently employs approximately 2,000 people. Since its inception, SARC has been located at Samsung Austin Semiconductor off of Parmer Lane in northeast Austin, but the organization has outgrown its current space and will move mid-summer to an approximately 30,000-square foot location at 7300 FM 2222 in Ladera Bend Building 1, located near Capital of Texas Highway. The Ladera Bend building is managed by HPI Real Estate Services & Investments.

India Plans Two Chip Facilities

Fearing the possibility of rogue programs getting embedded in imported chips that could compromise security of critical installations, the government is planning two chip-manufacturing units at an investment topping Rs 25,000 crore.

Right now, there are no chip manufacturing facilities in India and the department of information technology has recently received the Union Cabinet's nod for the project. The facilities will be set up either exclusively by the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and a defense public sector unit or through a public-private partnership.

"Plans include setting up a semiconductor unit (Fab-1 ) with established technology to support fabrication of chips to meet the requirement of high volume products as well as the requirement of the fab-less design companies on pay-per-use basis.

This activity may involve either setting up a plant in India with established technology or acquiring an existing fabrication abroad and its eventual relocation to India. The government support needed for either of the options will be negotiated," a department of information technology statement said.

Fab-2-the second phase of the project -- will entail a greenfield state-of-the-art semiconductor fabrication unit. This would imply giving equity or grant to an established integrated device manufacturer to set up the unit in India.

The amount of equity or grant will also be negotiated with the government, the note said. To begin with, the department will set up an empowered committee that will identify technology and investors for the facilities. This committee will recommend the sequence and priority between the proposed Fab-1 and Fab-2 facilities.

The members will also assess and recommend the nature and quantum of government support such as equity, grant or subsidy in physical or financial terms that may be required to translate the interest into investment.

This committee will submit its recommendations to the government by July 31. The decision to set up a fabrication facility was originally mooted by another committee comprising the chairman of the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) and the adviser to Prime Minister on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovation; secretary, information technology and secretary, telecommunications.

The committee also recommended introduction of policies for preferential access to "manufactured-in-India" or "Indian products" electronics goods for all government procurements and procurement by government licensees, creation of a dedicated "electronic development fund"; a National Electronics Mission, manufacture of high-priority electronic product line in India through capital grant and creation of electronic manufacturing clusters.

India is already a hub for semiconductor design with nearly 2,000 chips being designed every year and more than 20, 000 engineers engaged in chip design and verification -- mostly at the research centers of global semiconductor firms. Annually, India generates nearly $2 billion in revenues for the chip design services.

The semiconductor manufacturing companies abroad are generating revenues to the tune of $ 15 billion from wafer manufacturing based on these designs. Chip packaging and testing companies are generating $5 billion revenue based on these wafers produced for the India designed chips.

The government feels that a local chip manufacturing facility will have a catalytic impact on the development of downstream and upstream products, including ancillaries and will create 2.83 crore employment by 2020. Global market cyclical trends notwithstanding, India's semiconductor market grew by 28.3% in 2010.

Much of this growth was driven by mobile devices, information technology and office automation including tables and smartphones.

A report released by India Semiconductor Association, says India's addressable semiconductor market is estimated at $6.55 billion in 2010 and $9.86 billion in 2011. Says Pradip K Dutta, chairman of ISA, there are strategic reasons for a country like India develop domestic electronics manufacturing ecosystem for local manufacturing to reduce the import bill of electronic components.

Infineon to Increase Capacity at Malaysian Fab

An investment of US$160 million by Infineon Technologies to expand its production capacity and to upgrade its manufacturing facilities in Malacca, Malaysia is intended to boost its business opportunities in power semiconductors, particularly within the Asia Pacific region. The expenditure will also be allocated to research & development projects at the facility, according to the company. Infineon noted that 42% of its revenues in 2010 came from the Asia region including Japan.

“In order to be successful in Asia you have to do more than just business. It is about recognizing the culture and becoming a part of society. We aim to create local value added, contribute knowhow and employ and groom talents,” says Peter Bauer, CEO of Infineon Technologies AG.

The investment will lead directly to 350 new jobs in Malacca this year, adding to nearly 7,000 employees in Malacca.

TowerJazz to Acquire Micron’s 200mm fab in Japan

Specialist IC foundry, TowerJazz is to acquire Micron Technology’s 200mm facility in Nishiwaki City, Hyogo, Japan at a cost of approximately US$140 million. TowerJazz will pay US$40 million in cash and issue approximately 20 million ordinary shares to fund the deal. The proposed purchase would nearly double TowerJazz’s current manufacturing capacity by 60,000 wafers per month.

As part of the proposed acquisition, the companies anticipate a supply agreement will be put into effect for TowerJazz to manufacture products for Micron at the Japan facility for approximately the next three years.

“Previously, I’ve had many detailed interactions with the Micron R&D and operational groups when I held a position with a semiconductor equipment manufacturer,” said Russell Ellwanger, TowerJazz Chief Executive Officer. “The acquisition of a fab in Japan would be a strategic move by TowerJazz to enter the Japanese market and strengthen our presence in the Asia-Pacific region through local, high quality manufacturing capabilities and, in addition, would provide us with needed, large scale incremental capacity.”

TowerJazz said that the Nishiwaki fab is able to support geometries down to 95nm and can also be used to manufacture other products using TowerJazz process technologies. The foundry said it has plans to quickly qualify its core power management platforms to serve its Korean customers and then build high end RF capabilities at the facility.

Intel Plans Fab Upgrades

The days of building a 300mm fab every couple of years has long been over at Intel Corp. However, the first advanced front-end facility to be built in the U.S. since Fab 32 in Chandler, Arizona broke-ground in late 2005 will be a new R&D facility in Oregon, dubbed Fab D1X. Four other existing 300mm fabs will be upgraded for the volume production migration to the 22nm node at a cost of between US$6 and US$8 billion.

“Today’s announcement reflects the next tranche of the continued advancement of Moore’s Law and a further commitment to invest in the future of Intel and America,” said Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini. “The most immediate impact of our multi-billion-dollar investment will be the thousands of jobs associated with building a new fab and upgrading four others, and the high-wage, high-tech manufacturing jobs that follow.”

According to Intel, the capital expenditure planned will support 6,000 to 8,000 construction jobs and result in 800 to 1,000 new permanent high-tech jobs.

The fab upgrades will support the ramp of Intel’s first 22nm microprocessors, codenamed ‘Ivy Bridge,’ that is planned in late 2011. These fabs include in Arizona Fab 12 and Fab 32 in Arizona D1C and D1D in Oregon, originally development fabs.

Freescale’s Dunfermline Fab Sold

Though not sold to a another semiconductor firm, the 200mm shell fab in Dunfermline, Scotland owned by Freescale and formerly Motorola has finally been sold, according to ATREG and Colliers International. Shepherd Offshore Services, headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK have acquired the facility for an undisclosed sum.

Built in 1997, the 93,000 sq. m. (1,000,680) fab was never fully completed, and had never been occupied. The factory was built by Hyundai in 1997 but near bankruptcy saw it being sold for £800m in 2000 to Motorola.

“The sale of the Dunfermline fab is the only sizeable property transaction to have occurred in Scotland since the end of Q4 2008,” explains Doug Barrett, principal at ATREG. “The success of this project is ultimately the result of a combined global, regional and local marketing effort with Colliers International, as well as the dedication and determination of all the teams involved.

CEA-Leti Starts Ramping 300mm 3D-integration

CEA-Leti is applying its 3D-integration processes on a new 300mm wafer line that is ramping later this month. The R&D facility in France will be able to process through-silicon vias (TSVs), and advanced capabilities in alignment, bonding, thinning, and interconnects in specific integration schemes for manufacturing optimized die stacks.

“This extension offers important new capabilities to equipment manufacturers and other Leti partners,” said Laurent Malier, CEO of Leti. “Together we will demonstrate 3D and heterogeneous integration technologies on 300mm wafers.”

Leti can now offer heterogeneous integration technologies to customers on both 200mm and 300mm wafers.

IXYS Engages with GMCH to Fab Power Semiconductors

IXYS Corporation and General Motors Components Holdings (GMCH) entered into an agreement for the fabrication of power semiconductor wafers.

Given the growing importance of power semiconductors for transportation industries, including for electric trains, cars, electrical and hybrid vehicles (EVs, HEVs), it is a strategic fit for IXYS to engage with GMCH in order to establish a large-scale power semiconductor wafer fabrication base in the USA.

"Our customers desire multiple sources for our products, especially wafer fabrication. We have been using our Clare fab in MA, which is essentially a high-voltage integrated circuit wafer fab, to augment our power semiconductor wafer needs. However, the capabilities and capacity that GMCH will make available to us [in the Kokomo, IN fab] can address our potential growth needs beyond the capacity of the Clare fab, which may provide us great operational benefits in the US," commented Uzi Sasson, president of IXYS Corporation.

IXYS was founded originally as a fabless power semiconductor company, with global foundry relationships with selected world class semiconductor manufacturers. However, to create and retain proprietary technologies, IXYS developed its own in-house capabilities. IXYS owns and operates wafer fab facilities for its highly proprietary products in Germany, the UK, and the US. As the demand has been increasing for IXYS' specialized products, it has been IXYS' strategy to increase its internal and external wafer fab capacities.

IXYS initially was selected by GM's Delco division in 1990 to develop the specialized power semiconductors for the EV1 electric car, for manufacturing at the Kokomo, IN wafer fab.

"It is our long-term strategy to penetrate the growing opportunities in the automotive market with GMCH for a wide range of our power semiconductors, including our power modules. The proven manufacturing and technical skills of the GMCH team in Kokomo will enable us to expand our capacity rapidly, to improve our domestic supply chain, and to serve our worldwide customers with cost effective, high quality 'made in the USA' products," commented Dr. Nathan Zommer, founder and CEO of IXYS Corporation.

General Motors Components Holdings, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Motors. Its Kokomo Operations Electronics Manufacturing Center consists of Kokomo Semiconductors, Kokomo Thick-Film Printing and Kokomo Electronics Assembly. In 2010, the GMCH Kokomo Operations began making its manufacturing capabilities available to customers beyond Delphi and General Motors. Currently, this plant employs over a thousand people at a facility with over two million square feet of manufacturing space. It produces semiconductors, engine and transmission control modules, crash sensing and diagnostics modules, pressure sensors for engine management and occupant detection, body computer modules and power electronics modules primarily for the automotive industry.

IXYS Corporation develops technology-driven products to improve energy conversion efficiency, generate clean energy, improve automation, and provide advanced products for the transportation, medical and telecommunications industries.

BSE Group Forms BSE Tech

Boston Semi Equipment LLC (BSE Group) recently announced that it has acquired the assets of Asia Tech Corporation in order to launch its newest company, BSE Tech LLC (BSE Tech). BSE Tech delivers a comprehensive portfolio of pre-owned front end semiconductor manufacturing equipment and spare parts, technical capabilities and financial solutions. This combination allows it to facilitate the lease, sale, repositioning and servicing of all makes and models of new and pre-owned front end semiconductor equipment worldwide.

"BSE Tech builds on Asia Tech's established business to expand our position in the front end equipment market," said Doug Elder, CEO and President of BSE Group. "Combining these new assets with our OEM remarketing and partnership agreements makes us highly competitive. Further, BSE Group's financial backing gives BSE Tech the ability to own its own equipment and the purchasing power to acquire new tools, which is a key differentiator in this market."

BSE Tech has signed a long-term lease for a 75,000 square foot facility in Tempe, Ariz. that doubles the former footprint of Asia Tech. The new location will also house a new 15,000 square foot cleanroom that is currently under construction. Asia Tech's president, Francis Colligan, will join BSE Tech in the role of vice president. All employees of Asia Tech are now part of BSE Tech.

"With our BSE Tech and Test Advantage Hardware companies, BSE Group is well positioned in the semiconductor industry with strong front end and back end equipment and solutions," said Colin Scholefield, Executive Vice President of BSE Group. "Additionally, both companies deliver our flexible equipment and financing model, which was introduced last year when we acquired Test Advantage Hardware. Over the past six months with this business model, our company has experienced strong growth. We have already closed several transactions in the front end equipment market and have every expectation that BSE Tech will see rapid expansion in this market."

Renesas Electronics Operation at Naka Factory

Renesas Electronics Corporation released a preliminary schedule outlining the plan to secure product supply at its Naka wafer fabrication factory in Hitachinaka, Ibaraki, which has temporarily halted production as a result of the earthquake in northern Japan on March 11.

The preliminary schedule includes Renesas Electronics' plans for shifting production to the company's other manufacturing sites or to outside foundries, and for the resumption of operations at the Naka factory. Among the devices produced at the Naka factory, those designated to be produced at alternate manufacturing sites have begun at Renesas Electronics' Saijo factory in Saijo, Ehime; Renesas Northern Japan Semiconductor's Tsugaru factory in Goshogawara, Aomori; Renesas Yamagata Semiconductor's Tsuruoka factory in Tsuruoka, Yamagata; and other Renesas Electronics Group manufacturing sites. The company also has started transferring additional production to outside foundries beginning April, 2011.

On March 28, 2011, Renesas Electronics announced its target to restart part of its manufacturing at the Naka factory beginning July, 2011, and the company is working in earnest with more than 2,000 additional support workers dispatched from outside Renesas Electronics companies to help speed up the resumption of production as much as possible. As a result of these efforts, Renesas Electronics estimates it will move up the schedule for mass production (wafer input) at the 200-millimeter (mm) (8-inch) wafer fabrication line to June 15. Prior to mass production, Renesas Electronics expects it will begin its test production at the 200-mm (8-inch) wafer fabrication line on April 23.

Renesas Electronics plans to further announce a second updated schedule of the Naka factory in mid-May after the company confirms when the production capacity at both the 200- and 300-mm wafer fabrication lines return to that of pre-earthquake levels with the capacity added by shifting production to other factories. Renesas Electronics intends to add details of the impact from the earthquake to its financial reports when confirmed information is available. While it is the company's intent to follow the above schedule to the best of its ability, the published dates may change. The schedule assumes a stable source of electrical power and no further damage from subsequent aftershocks. About Renesas Electronics Corporation Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723), the world's number one supplier of microcontrollers, is a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions including microcontrollers, SoC solutions and a broad range of analog and power devices. Business operations began as Renesas Electronics in April 2010 through the integration of NEC Electronics Corporation (TSE:6723) and Renesas Technology Corp., with operations spanning research, development, design and manufacturing for a wide range of applications.

Headquartered in Japan, Renesas Electronics has subsidiaries in 20 countries worldwide.

India Plans $5 billion Fab

Hoping to revive its semiconductor manufacturing efforts, India recently unfolded a new blueprint for the construction of two local wafer facilities.

The government has proposed the establishment of a committee to identify technologies and investors to lead the effort. Among others, the committee would include an adviser to the prime minister on technology issues, the chairman of the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council and M.J. Zarabi, former chairman of India's Semiconductor Complex.

Along with identifying technologies and potential investors, the committee will recommend the level of government support for the fab project and the mix of grants and subsidies. The panel's recommendations will be delivered by July 31.

Key goals of the fab effort include developing policies for encouraging access to Indian-made electronic products along with the creation of an Electronic Development Fund. The fund would provide grant money to build electronic manufacturing clusters.

The government said the fab initiative also will seek to develop "localized content [and] value addition."

Construction of the two fabs is expected to cost about $5 billion. The amount of government financial support must still be negotiated.

"The wafer fabs will have catalytic impact on development of downstream and upstream products," according to a government statement. "It would have sizable impact on the development of VLSI design software, solutions and services. It will also bootstrap innovation and R&D."

The fab initiative is the latest in a series of efforts designed to build up an Indian electronic hardware industry. Previous efforts have failed to produce tangible results, partly as a result of an ongoing debate over whether India needs a domestic chip industry.

Earlier government proposals to provide financial incentives to build wafer fabs have languished. It remains to be seen whether the latest effort will fare any better.

The Indian government estimates that the creation of a chipmaking industry within India will help create 30 million direct and indirect jobs by 2020.

However, India has been here before and failed to attract any chip manufacturers to set up shop. In the middle part of the last decade a group of Silicon Valley-based Indian expatriates created SemIndia before transforming that company into a supplier of communications equipment. Hindustan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. selected Infineon Technologies AG as a partner to help it put down two fabs in Fab City industrial park near Hyderabad in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

Neither SemIndia nor HSMC has put down wafer fabs and the government-backed Fab City has drifted toward a focus on solar energy. It was not discussed whether Fab City would still be a preferred location for the creation of a chip manufacturing facility under the renewed plan.

MEMC, Samsung to Build Korean Plant

MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. and a unit of Samsung Group have formed a joint venture to build and operate a polysilicon plant in Ulsan, Korea.

MEMC and Seoul, South Korea-based Samsung Fine Chemicals will make equal capital investments in the joint venture to build and operate a new facility on Samsung property in Ulsan. The cost of the project was not disclosed.

Production at the new facility is expected to begin in 2013. St. Peters-based MEMC, led by CEO Ahmad Chatila, makes silicon wafers and related products for the semiconductor and solar industries. MEMC reported sales of $2.2 billion in 2010.

Freescale Scales Up in Mexico’s ‘Silicon Valley’

Though it's selling off properties in other locales, Austin-based Freescale Semiconductor is growing its engineering, business process operations and software design capabilities at its Freescale Mexico Business and Technology Center in Guadalajara. Growth at the site will be focused in multiple areas, including analog and mixed signal design, business processes, and systems and applications.

The new facility is three times larger than Freescale's previous building in Guadalajara, and has 22,000 more sq. ft. (2,044 sq. m.) available for future expansion. The company expected to end 2010 with more than 250 employees on site, as well as 80 partners. The facility is large enough to accommodate more than 500 people with state-of-the-art laboratories for the medical, automotive, appliance and multimedia markets.

"Our Guadalajara team continues to be an outstanding contributor to the global growth of Freescale," said Henri Richard, senior vice president and chief sales and marketing officer at Freescale. "It is a credit to efforts of the team that we plan to expand our growth there from both an employee and business perspective in the coming year. We also want to thank the State of Jalisco and Federal governments, which have continuously supported our efforts in Guadalajara through support and economic incentives."

"By having global companies such as Freescale build on their commitment to the region, we are strengthening our core competences in semiconductors, BPO and IT," said Jalisco Governor Emilio Gonzalez Marquez.

The metro area of 4 million people is home to approximately 57 percent of Jalisco's population, as well as to design and engineering centers from such firms as Intel, GE, IBM, Hitachi, HP, Siemens and Flextronics.

Intel's Mexico Web site explains that the city now hosts 12 global OEMs, 16 EMS providers and 24 design centers. The area is also home to the Mexico Center for Semiconductor Technology.

Freescale sited its first Latin American facility in Guadalajara in 1968.

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