ON Semiconductor Corporation announced that its SANYO Semiconductor division's operations located in the Rojana Industrial Park in Ayutthaya, Thailand, have been suspended as a result of recent flooding in the region. The company has confirmed that there have been no on-site injuries to ON Semiconductor employees in Thailand as a result of the flood.

"Our sympathy goes out to our employees and the people of Thailand who have been impacted from the recent flooding," said Keith Jackson, ON Semiconductor president and CEO. "Our first priority is, as always, the personal safety and well being of those impacted by the flood. We continue to assess the impact to our operations in the Rojana Industrial Park, and are working to identify options for shifting the production to other facilities. As the company deems appropriate, it will post updates on our website at www.onsemi.com/news and communicate with our various stakeholders as new information becomes available."

ON Semiconductor's SANYO Semiconductor division currently operates wafer probe and assembly and test operations in the Rojana Industrial Park, which is located approximately 70 kilometers north of Bangkok. Initial reports indicate these facilities have sustained damage as a result of the flooding. ON Semiconductor also has operations located in Bang Pa In, Thailand, which have not been impacted by the flooding to date.

Based on currently available information, the operations located in the Rojana Industrial Park are estimated to have produced approximately 5 to 10 percent of ON Semiconductor's total worldwide output as measured by revenues of $905.8 million for the second quarter of 2011. There was no impact to third quarter 2011 results from the flooding. The company expects, however, due to the flood and related damage of operations in the Rojana Industrial Park, some loss of revenue in the fourth quarter of 2011 and into 2012. Multiple factors could affect revenue loss, including the amount of finished goods inventory available, extent of the damage to the building and the equipment, the length of time for operations to resume back to full production levels, the ability to shift production to other locations and the level of demand from customers taking product from this location. The company is actively working to shift production located in the Rojana Industrial Park to other locations worldwide.

ON Semiconductor expects to describe the financial impact of the flood in further detail during its third quarter 2011 earnings call in the first week of November.

Sumitomo Chemical Investing in Compound Semiconductor Materials Business

Sumitomo Chemical Co Ltd of Tokyo, Japan says that it is to expand compound semiconductor materials production facilities at its Chiba Works in Sodegaura, Chiba Prefecture, in order to strengthen the business and the stable supply of materials to customers.

With gallium arsenide (GaAs) being widely adopted for high-frequency devices used in mobile phones and other equipment due to its outstanding signal processing at high frequencies as well as low power consumption, in recent years demand has been growing rapidly for applications in antenna switches and power amplifiers in multi-function mobile phones (as typified by smartphones), says Sumitomo Chemical. The firm expects demand to continue to grow in the future, so it aims to expand production of GaAs epitaxial wafers.

Until now Sumitomo Chemical has been manufacturing GaAs epiwafers at its Chiba Works and at its US subsidiary Sumika Electronic Materials Inc of Phoenix, AZ, with production capacity expanded stepwise in the past. Given the expectations of a continued increase in demand for GaAs epiwafers, the firm has decided to double compound semiconductor materials production capacity at the Chiba Works through investing about ¥4bn (US$52.2m), with the aim of not only expanding the business but also establishing a fully secured system for stable supply.

In addition, capitalizing on its technology cultivated through the GaAs epiwafer business, Sumitomo Chemical is developing new compound semiconductor materials. Specifically, it will participate in the government-private sector joint project for next-generation power semiconductors at the Nagoya Institute of Technology, where it undertakes R&D on gallium nitride (GaN). Such next-generation power semiconductors are capable of being operated at high voltage and high temperatures, and are expected to contribute to improved performance of home electrical appliances and personal computers, as well as electric vehicles, solar cells, and equipment for wind power or geothermal power generation etc (all of which can contribute to energy saving, and are likely to show market expansion in the future).

Positioning the compound semiconductor materials business as one of the priority areas of its IT-related Chemicals Sector, Sumitomo Chemical says that it aims to enhance its existing operations through expanding production capacity as well as seeking to further expand its business by focusing efforts on developing new materials.

Dow Chemical Business Unit Building New Factory in Korea

The facility will make metallization materials used in advanced-chip packaging.

Dow Electronic Materials said it is building a new manufacturing and testing facility in Cheonan, Korea, for metallization materials used in advanced-chip packaging.

The new facility will meet specifications to manufacture electronic-grade materials, and will include Class 1,000 and Class 10 clean-room spaces for product packaging, according to the business unit of Dow Chemical Co.

The facility also will include quality-control and applications-testing labs.

Dow Chemical expects the facility to be operational in second-quarter 2012.

"We are positioning this facility in Korea to provide material supply close to our local and regional customers," said Leo Linehan, global business director for advanced packaging technologies.

Initially, the factory will make components for Dow's lead-free Solderon BP tin-silver, which includes low-alpha tin, and electroplating copper used in Intervia and Ultralink products for advanced-chip packaging and Ultrafill and Nanoplate products for semiconductor applications.

Dow Chemical also makes metallization products at its sites in Marlborough, Mass.; Sasakami, Japan; and Lucerne, Switzerland.

"Chip packaging continues to be increasingly important in electronics, particularly mobile devices, as the demand for more functionality in the same or smaller footprint grows," the company said

"3-D packaging, which allows multiple chips to be connected and stacked, is increasingly important because it delivers greater functionality and faster data transmission - all within the same compact space. 3-D packaging requires high-performance metallization materials that are manufactured with tight quality specifications."

Dow Electronic Materials Kicks Off Construction on Facility in Cheonan

Dow Electronic Materials, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company, announced that construction is underway in Cheonan, Korea for a new manufacturing and testing facility for metallization materials used in chip packaging.

"We are positioning this facility in Korea to provide material supply close to our local and regional customers," said Leo Linehan, global business director for Advanced Packaging Technologies, in a release.

"This significant investment further demonstrates our commitment to growing our capabilities and supporting the growth of our customers."

Initial products manufactured in the new facility will be the components for Dow's lead-free Solderon BP tin-silver, which includes low-alpha tin, and electroplating copper used in Intervia and Ultralink products for advanced chip packaging and Ultrafill and Nanoplate products for semiconductor applications. The new facility adds to the capacity for metallization products already in place at the company's Marlborough, Mass., Sasakami, Japan, and Lucerne, Switzerland sites.

The raw material and manufacturing areas in the new facility will be constructed to specifications required to manufacture electronic-grade materials, and Class 1000 (ISO Class 6) and Class 10 (ISO Class 4) cleanroom spaces will be constructed for product packaging. In addition to manufacturing, the facility will include quality control and applications testing labs. The facility is expected to be operational in Q.2 of 2012, with ramp up of commercial volumes throughout 2012 as customer qualifications progress. The facility is expandable for future growth.

Chip packaging continues to be increasingly important in electronics, particularly mobile devices, as the demand for more functionality in the same or smaller footprint grows. 3D packaging, which allows multiple chips to be connected and stacked, is increasingly important because it delivers greater functionality and faster data transmission -- all within the same compact space. 3D packaging requires high-performance metallization materials that are manufactured with tight quality specifications.

memsstar Limited Expands Livingston Manufacturing Facility

memsstar Limited, a leading provider of deposition and etch equipment and process expertise to the micro-electrical mechanical systems (MEMS) and semiconductor industries announced that it has doubled its cleanroom manufacturing space to meet growing customer demand. The facility expansion follows record orders of more than $20 million in 2010 and projected high double-digit revenue growth for 2011.

In addition to increasing capacity, the newly expanded facility adjoining the company's headquarters in Livingston, Scotland will allow memsstar to more efficiently remanufacture, refurbish and repurpose semiconductor etch and deposition equipment. It also allows memsstar to handle larger, more complex equipment. As a result of the expansion, memsstar has added new positions in logistics, administration and skilled and semi-skilled engineering.

The facility has been completely re-designed to suit memsstar's manufacturing requirements with seven flexibly configured bays, which the company will start utilizing immediately. memsstar's remanufacturing division, pt35, delivers refurbished and repurposed etch and deposition equipment for MEMS fabrication and R&D as well as semiconductor manufacturing in Europe. It will use the expanded facility to reduce lead time for refurbished OEM platforms as a result of increased manufacturing efficiencies.

"Refurbished and repurposed equipment is coming of age as a critical component in the strategies of semiconductor manufacturers in Europe," said Peter Connock, CEO of memsstar Limited. "Our ability to deliver the highest quality equipment has led to significant sales growth of our refurbished tools for semiconductor manufacturing as well as repurposed semiconductor equipment for use in MEMS development and manufacturing. This expansion affords increased efficiency due to its improved facilities and layout and showcases our capabilities as a credible, high-quality supplier of both remanufactured and proprietary equipment."

In addition to the gains expected in its remanufacturing process, memsstar will also benefit from additional capacity to support its own proprietary range of products for MEMS applications. The company's Solo, Sentry and Multi process tools deliver advanced etch, surface preparation and deposition processes to support MEMS R&D and volume manufacturing. memsstar platforms ensure the performance, control and yield required for manufacturing current and next-generation MEMS devices.

"Two trends have driven our expansion, the increased importance and significance of the secondary equipment market for semiconductor manufacturing and the maturation of MEMS manufacturing with its increasingly advanced requirements," continued Connock. "memsstar is ideally positioned to address both markets with our significant process expertise and equipment offerings, which allow us to provide customers the path of least risk to successful, cost-effective manufacturing. The expansion further secures our position as a reliable and committed partner that can fully support a broadening customer base and additional anticipated growth into 2012."

About memsstar(R) Limited Founded in 2003, memsstar Limited is a leading provider of deposition and etch equipment and technology solutions to manufacturers of micro-electrical mechanical systems (MEMS) and semiconductors. Based in Livingston, Scotland, the company has formed two distinct offerings on the back of its process expertise in deposition and etch: memsstar proprietary process technology and equipment that helps the industry meet the challenges of integrating new materials and designs into existing flows and architectures; and pt35, which builds, remanufactures and services etch and deposition technology and equipment solutions for the European semiconductor market and the global MEMS market.

Applied Energy Systems is Breaking Ground on New Manufacturing Facility

Applied Energy Systems, Inc, a manufacturer of industry-leading ultra-high purity gas source and distribution systems, will be breaking ground on its new Semiconductor Equipment Manufacturing and Technology (SEMAT) Center. The company has resided in Malvern, PA since 1985 and is excited to expand its current operation in the area.

The new SEMAT Center will manufacture the next generation of gas source and distribution systems for worldwide customers of Applied Energy Systems and its SEMI-GAS® Systems Division. The 16,000 sq. ft., two-story facility, located adjacent to the current facility, will house a new Class 100 cleanroom and engineering center as well as incorporate green conscious materials into the construction, including LED lighting and solar panels.

The projected $2.5 million building will not only facilitate the expansion of Applied Energy Systems, but also increase the growth of business in the greater Philadelphia area. "We're proud of the progress Applied Energy Systems has achieved thus far. This new building will usher in a new chapter in the company's life by providing the extra space we need to develop better products and more jobs in the community," said Steve Buerkel, President of Applied Energy Systems. "The construction of the new facility will also help generate jobs in the area during this downturned economy. We enjoy the small town atmosphere near the big city and hope our success will further the growth of our community."

High-tech Project Involving Five Global Companies

A $4.4 billion high-tech project involving five global companies will create or retain 6,900 jobs statewide, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced September 27, 2011..

The announcement made just before former President Bill Clinton's opening remarks at an economic forum involves Intel, IBM Corp., GlobalFoundries, the Taiwan semiconductor maker TSMC and Samsung.

Cuomo said the companies have agreed to build a next generation of computer chip technology.

Facilities will be created or expanded at the nanotechnology center next to the state University at Albany, in Utica, East Fishkill, Canandaigua and Yorktown Heights.

Among the 6,900 jobs to be retained or created, 2,500 will be high-technology positions, Cuomo said.

The state is providing a matching investment of $400 million in equipment and technology to the state university system, Cuomo said.

"This is a big deal," he said.

John Kelly, senior vice president and director of research at IBM, said the New York-based company's investment in research and development will be $3.6 billion.

The goal of the so-called Global 450 consortium is to produce the next generation of computer wafer, requiring the "unprecedented" cooperation of the five companies.

"This is really about computing systems IBM and others will construct using advance technology," Kelly said.

Linde Starts Up Ultra-high Purity Nitrogen/Oxygen Plant in Hillsboro, Oregon

Linde North America, through one of its U.S. affiliates, has expanded the capacity of its Hillsboro, Oregon, plant to supply ultra-high purity (UHP) gaseous nitrogen and oxygen to semiconductor manufacturers in the Pacific Northwest.

Linde North America is a member of The Linde Group, a world-leading gases and engineering company and, through its electronics and specialty gases business, a major supplier of products and services to the semiconductor and electronics manufacturing industries.

The new Linde capacity is required to satisfy the growing needs of semiconductor manufacturers in the greater Portland, Oregon, area, which Linde has been serving since the early 1990s. The use of UHP nitrogen and oxygen in the manufacturing process is essential to ensure products meet their extremely tight design specifications.

Pat Murphy, president of Linde North America, said, "We are truly proud of our ability to serve the growing needs of our customers with this new UHP nitrogen and oxygen plant. The expansion of the Hillsboro facility represents Linde's commitment to focus on key global customers and be a valued supplier to them no matter where they expand. As technologies advance, the purity of the gases that touch the surface of the wafer becomes even more critical and the latest Linde generation of high purity Spectra® plants is at the industry forefront of the supply of UHP nitrogen and oxygen."

The Linde Group is a world-leading gases and engineering company with around 49,100 employees working in more than 100 countries worldwide. In the 2010 financial year, it achieved sales of €12.9 billion (US$17.9 billion). The strategy of The Linde Group is geared towards long-term profitable growth and focuses on the expansion of its international business with forward-looking products and services.

Linde acts responsibly towards its shareholders, business partners, employees, society and the environment in every one of its business areas, regions and locations across the globe. Linde is committed to technologies and products that unite the goals of customer value and sustainable development, states Amy Ficon Linde Corporate Communications.

Jenoptik to Expand Production in Berlin

From 2013, production capacities will be more than doubled as a result of high customer demand for gallium arsenide lasers.

The Jenoptik Group is to invest around € 10 million to expand the manufacture of optoelectronic semiconductor components (so-called laser bars) at its site in the Berlin-Adlershof technology park.

The existing production facility has reached the limits of its capacity and is being expanded due to the high level of customer satisfaction and the rapidly increasing demand, particularly from Asia, for future projects, as well as for the progressing process of the internationalization of the Lasers & Material Processing division.

The production will be equipped with state-of-the-art manufacturing technology for automated production and is designed to process 4-inch wafers. In a typical semiconductor manufacturing process GaAs wafers are structured and further processed to create high-power laser bars. The new production facility is expected to go into operation at the beginning of 2013.

“With this investment we are expanding our position as a global leader in this market segment. We will also be reaching unit volumes that will enable us to not only achieve economies of scale but also a highly automated and state-of-the-art production process” said Jenoptik Chairman Michael Mertin.

There has been a significant rise in demand for high-power diode lasers over recent years, primarily as a result of new laser applications. High-power diode lasers are increasingly conquering mass volume markets, for example direct laser material processing in the industrial environment and in the field of medicine/aesthetics.

As an excitation source they are also needed for modern laser technologies such as thin-disk and fiber lasers as well as diode direct. These types of lasers are already achieving high growth rates and will continue to do so in the future. “We believe that our diodes do not only follow major trends on the laser market but are setting these” adds Mertin. The main advantages of the high-power diode lasers are their high efficiency, compact design and low operating voltage. The capacity range of the lasers can be variably adapted to the requirements of the respective field of application.

Jenoptik is one of the leading suppliers of high-power diode lasers and acknowledged worldwide as a leader in quality. For the development and production of the lasers Jenoptik’s primary focus is on a long lifetime, excellent beam quality, high output power and simultaneously efficient mass production. The laser bars from Berlin form the basis for the high-power diode lasers which are developed and manufactured by Jenoptik in Jena.

The laser bars are also sold to customers worldwide. The Group has control of the entire technology chain to manufacture these lasers, the most energy efficient of any kind. The service range also includes the so-called epitaxial process, i.e. applying the optically active layers to the GaAs substrate.

Jenoptik has had its own production facilities in Berlin-Adlershof since 2006. The optoelectronic base material and the efficient production of this material are being developed by Jenoptik in close collaboration with the Ferdinand-Braun-Institute, Leibniz Institute for High Frequency Technology (FBH) in Berlin-Adlershof. JENOPTIK Diode Lab, created in February 2002 as a spin-off from the FBH, is an example for successful know-how and technology transfer. Therewith, Jenoptik is incorporated within a comprehensive network of research institutions at the Science and Technology Park Adlershof and benefits from being located in direct proximity to the technology partner.

Currently Jenoptik employs 70 people at Berlin, mainly in the Lasers & Material Processing and Optical Systems divisions. As a result of the investment, the number of employees will increase by 2013 according to the expected further growth.

Shin-Etsu Restarts Silicon Wafer Plant

Shin-Etsu Chemical has rehabilitated its silicon wafer plant in Shirakawa, Japan. The facility, which by some estimates account for 20 percent of global capacity for the semiconductor material, was severely damaged by the earthquake on March 11, 2010. In the weeks after the quake, there was widespread concern in the electronics industry that the Shin-Etsu outage could lead to shortages. However, according to market research, semiconductor inventories have been rising every month for the past 6 months.

New Cleanroom for ev2

London-based Cavendish Engineers has been appointed by ev2 technologies as the main contractor for the design and build of a new cleanroom facility for ev2.

EV2 is a provider of specialized technology for high performance power, imaging and semiconductor systems and equipment for applications within the medical science, aerospace, defense and other industrial markets. The new facility is being built at the company’s headquarters in Chelmsford, Exxes, UK.

The cleanroom project includes an ISO Class 6 facility, complete with 6 cleanrooms, a clean corridor, changing room and air locks.

The company designed the mechanical and electrical plant for this project with stringent conditions on temperature, humidity and pressure. Energy efficiency and low running costs are notoriously difficult to achieve in such a demanding cleanroom environments, but with localized recirculating air handling units both efficiency and reliability was achieved.

Samsung Line-16 Memory Fab Opens

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. started up its Line-16 memory semiconductor fabrication facility, calling it the “industry’s largest production capacity” for memory chips.

Last summer, Samsung pledged nearly $8 billion for the new Line 16. It was understood that it was just a renaming of previous plans (Line 17 & 18). The new fab represents a total investment of 12 trillion Korean won through completion. Construction began in May 2010, with equipment and cleanroom installations completed about a year later. Trial production ramped in June 2011.

The fab is situated in a 12-story building in Samsung’s Nano City Complex in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It offers approximately 198,000sq.m. (2,130,480 sq. ft.) of workspace.

Samsung also announced that it has begun mass production of its DDR3 DRAM based on 20nm class process technology. 20nm-class DRAM improves productivity by 50% and reduces energy consumption by up to 40% over 30nm-class chips, Samsung reports. A 4Gb density will go into development this year. The company began mass production of high-performance 20nm-class NAND flash memory chips this month, with a projected volume of more than 10,000 12” wafers monthly. 10nm-class NAND flash production is expected to start next year.

Samsung Electronics Chairman Kun-hee Lee received the first wafer from the new memory line, in a ceremony attended by about 500 guests. Joining Lee were Oh-hyun Kwon, President of Device Solutions; Jay Y. Lee, President and COO, as well as executives of major customer companies and representatives from the IT industry. Lee called the “fierce cyclical volatility” of the global semiconductor industry a motivator for improved technological capabilities and expertise.

Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. makes semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2010 consolidated sales of US$135.8 billion and approximately 190,500 employees.

Momentive to Expand Specialty Quartz Plant in Geesthacht, Germany

Momentive Performance Materials Inc.'s Quartz & Ceramics business kicked off an expansion of its specialty quartz production facility in Geesthacht, Germany, with a ceremony attended by government and business leaders, company officials and plant associates.

The $14 million expansion project at the Geesthacht manufacturing plant will enable Momentive to meet increasing global demand for its high-purity specialty fused quartz crucibles, used by the photovoltaic industry to produce solar wafers and the semiconductor industry in the production of computer chips. The company manufactures a variety of specialty products that are essential to the photovoltaic wafer and semiconductor microchip production, including fused quartz crucibles used to "grow" silicon ingots, large-diameter fused quartz tubing, rods, and solid ingot in which silicon wafers are processed to make microchips.

The Geesthacht expansion will enable the site to increase production of large diameter fused quartz crucibles by approximately 100 percent. These crucibles are used by customers as the vessels in which they produce monosilicon ingots, which are then further manufactured into silicon wafers. The expansion project is anticipated to be completed in late 2012. Earlier this year, the company also began expansion projects at two of its specialty quartz and ceramics plants in the United States.

"We are committed to growing our specialty quartz manufacturing capabilities to meet the ongoing needs of our global customers in the industries we serve," said Ray Kolberg, President, Quartz & Ceramics. "Global demand for high-purity quartz products continues to expand as the photovoltaic and semiconductor production increases, driven in turn by strong demand in these fast-growing markets."

The Geesthacht plant, located at Borsigstrasse 1-7, employs 97 people. An additional 25 full time jobs are anticipated to be created at the plant once the project is completed.

Momentive's quartz and ceramics business serves a diverse range of industries including the electronics, solar energy, LED and specialty lighting, and electric vehicle markets.

Together Momentive Performance Materials and its sister operating company, Momentive Specialty Chemicals Inc, operate 104 manufacturing plants and employ more than 10,000 associates around the world. In Germany, Momentive employs approximately 1,700 workers at various sites.

ASE to Build Semiconductor Plant in Shanghai

Taiwan's Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc. (ASE), the world's largest semiconductor manufacturer, is set to spend RMB 8 billion ($1.25 billion) to build a semiconductor assembly plant in Shanghai Municipality, the China Semiconductor Industry Association (CSIA) reported Sept. 19.

Located in Shanghai's Jinqiao Development Zone, the 100,000-square-meter (1,076,000 sq. ft.) facility is forecast to generate $8.6 billion in annual revenue by 2015, according to the CSIA.

Founded in 1984, ASE accounts for approximately 20 percent of global semiconductor assembly. The company currently has production bases in Jiangsu Province's Kunshan City, Guangdong Province's Shenzhen City, and Shanghai, said the industry association.

The company's revenue rocketed 141 pct to $6.47 billion in 2010, with net profit surging 204 percent to $658.70 million.

CISA expects the global semiconductor market to grow by seven percent over the next four years.

McIlvaine Company

Northfield, IL 60093-2743

Tel: 847-784-0012; Fax: 847-784-0061

E-mail: editor@mcilvainecompany.com

www.mcilvainecompany.com