The global engineering and construction company M+W Group has received a major contract from Infineon Technologies for a new semiconductor plant in Kulim/Malaysia. The turnkey project includes the design and construction not only of the multi-storey production facility but also of the central utilities building, a gas farm and other buildings. The gross floor area of the facility is some 100,000 square meters (1,076,000 sq. ft.), which is the equivalent to an area of 15 football fields.

"We are delighted that Infineon Technologies has once again chosen M+W Group as their preferred general contractor, this time for the Fab expansion project in Malaysia. This is a great example of customer satisfaction and our long term partnership approach with key customers," said M+W Group CEO Jürgen Wild. The Stuttgart-based engineering and construction company already built the first semiconductor plant in Kulim in Malaysia for Infineon alongside the Infineon plant in Dresden, Germany.

The new plant is being set up right beside the existing Infineon factory. It will enable Infineon to further expand its production capacities for the so-called power semiconductors, specially designed for the energy-efficient control of high, electric currents. They are used for instance to drive electric motors in cars, high-speed trains and other industrial environments.

About M+W Group : M+W Group is the leading global engineering, construction and project management company in the fields of Advanced Technology Facilities, Life Science & Chemicals, Energy & Environment Technologies and High-Tech Infrastructure. From concept development to turnkey services the company manages projects of all sizes ensuring rapid realization, high quality standards and cost-effective completion. With its competence to link process and automation technologies and complex facilities to integrated solutions M+W Group primarily focuses on leading companies in the fields of electronics, photovoltaics, life science, chemicals, energy, automotive, security and communication, as well as research institutes and universities. M+W Group GmbH is the holding company with headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany. In 2010 M+W Group generated an order intake of €2.1 billion and revenues of nearly €1.8 billion. The Group has more than 7,000 employees. M+W Group is owned by the Austrian Stumpf Group that is globally successful in the areas of High-Tech Engineering, Smart & Renewable Energy, Real Estate and Technology Investments.

Lattice Power Ramps Production

Lattice Power Corporation started volume production of its new-generation gallium nitride (GaN) high-power light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on silicon substrates.

Lattice Power says it achieves comparable performance in the volume GaN-on-Si LED chips as high-end chips on conventional sapphire substrates, at a much lower price point and with a well-established supply base of silicon wafers. Cost savings at larger-diameter wafers can be up to 70% over conventional LED products, Lattice Power asserts.

Twenty strategic customers have received the LEDs and will incorporate them into indoor and outdoor lighting applications.

Lattice Power's silicon-substrate-based LED series encompasses four chip sizes: 28mm2, 35mm2, 45mm2, and 55mm2. Chip power ranges from 0.5 to 2W. The 45mm LED has an operation current of 350mA, producing 130-lumen cool white with an efficiency of 120 lumens/W.

Lattice Power recently launched production of smaller-size silicon-substrate LED chips for displays and signage.

Lattice Power is actively working on 150-mm GaN-on-Si technology and is expecting to transfer its production to the larger-diameter silicon substrates in 2013.

Lattice Power makes blue/white GaN-based LEDs on silicon substrates. The company is backed by leading venture capitalists, including GSR Ventures, Temasek Holdings, Mayfield Fund, AsiaVest Partners and IFC.

Samsung to Spend $1.9 Billion on New Chip Line

Samsung Electronics Co. said it is spending $1.9 billion to build a new logic chip factory in South Korea to capitalize on demand for mobile devices.

The South Korean company said that the new plant in South Korean city of Hwaseong will manufacture application processors for smartphones and tablet computers.

Samsung aims to complete the line before the end of 2013 after breaking ground this month.

Samsung is the world's largest supplier of memory chips. It began pumping up investment in non-memory chips only recently.

Amkor Plans Semiconductor Packaging and Test Facility in Korea

Amkor Technology Inc. plans to build a state-of-the-art factory and global research and development center in the Incheon Free Economic Zone, which is located in the greater metropolitan area of Seoul, Korea. The new factory and R&D center will focus on the design, development and full scale production of innovative semiconductor packaging and test services for leading semiconductor and electronic manufacturing companies.

“We are making a strategic, long term investment in our core manufacturing and research infrastructure. It is a commitment to the future,” said Ken Joyce, Amkor's president and chief executive officer. “Korea is a worldwide center of excellence for the semiconductor and electronics industries, and with our new site we will be able to attract top engineering talent and a highly skilled workforce.”

We have signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding for a site for the new facilities with approximately 186,000 square meters, or about 46 acres. We expect to spend approximately $350 million over the next three to four years to acquire and develop the land and buildings, with approximately $30 million planned for the fourth quarter of 2012 and approximately $70 million planned for 2013. The $100 million of spending planned for 2012 and 2013 is expected to be accrued this year and would be incremental to our previous guidance of $550 million of capital additions for 2012.

Construction is expected to commence in 2014 and the facility is expected to become operational by late 2015 or 2016. Amkor expects to equip the new manufacturing and R&D facilities using its normal capital additions budget.

“Our total investment for this project may reach $1 billion over the next 10 years, although spending for a project like this will be spread over many years and can be controlled as needed as economic and market conditions and the cash needs for our business evolve,” noted Joyce.

Amkor is a leading provider of semiconductor packaging and test services to semiconductor companies and electronics OEMs.

ASE Opens Phase 3 Semiconductor Packaging and Test Facility in Weihai

Semiconductor assembly and test services (SATS) provider Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Incorporated opened its Phase 3 manufacturing facility in Weihai, Shangdong province, China, boosting discrete packaging and test capacity.

The 5,120sq.m. (55,091 sq. ft.) building offers 30,560sq.m. (328,825 sq. ft.) of floor space, and will require an additionally 2,000 employees in engineering, development, and operations at ASE. Weihai’s Phase 3 will bolster the facility’s packaging and testing of discrete semiconductor devices, such as TO-92, Power and SOP/DFN. Discretes made a $20.6 billion market in 2011, and are set to grow with increased semiconductor content in appliances, cloud computing, and other applications.

The company acquired the Weihai manufacturing facility in 2008 from Aimhigh Corporation. ASE has since invested about $200 million on building expansion, equipment purchase, facility upgrades, and R&D. Phase 3’s opening ceremony, hosted by Dr. Tien Wu, COO of the ASE Group and J.H. Lee, GM of ASE Weihai, welcomed senior Weihai officials Tang Guan Yuan, vice mayor and Zhang Jian Jun, director of the economic development zone.

The ASE Group provides independent semiconductor manufacturing services in assembly, test, materials and design manufacturing. The ASE Group offers a portfolio including IC test program design, front-end engineering test, wafer probe, wafer bump, substrate design and supply, wafer level package (WLP), flip chip, system-in-package (SiP), and final test, as well as electronic manufacturing services (EMS) through Universal Scientific Industrial Co Ltd, a member of the ASE Group.

MEMS Processing Unit Completed at X-FAB

X-FAB Silicon Foundries completed its dedicated noble metal facility for micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) and post-complementary oxide metal semiconductor (CMOS) processing in Erfurt, Germany. The company also marked a milestone, shipping its 1 billionth MEMS device.

The dedicated MEMS manufacturing facility will add gold deposition and patterning capabilities to X-FAB's existing MEMS capabilities at Erfurt. The facility has capacity for approximately 100,000 wafers/year, processing MEMS for high-growth consumer, mobile, and computer end markets.

The noble metal processes facility began construction in late 2011, and was completed on schedule. The full equipment set is installed and being qualified for production.

X-FAB has manufactured and shipped 1 billion MEMS devices, since production began in 1995. Used in consumer, automotive and medical applications, MEMS made at X-FAB include gyroscopes, pressure sensors, accelerometers, microfluidic devices, thermopiles, and CMOS-integrated MEMS sensors and wafer-level packaged (WLP) devices. Improvements to its MEMS capacity include adding 8” wafer capability and the new noble metals processing unit, as well as ready-to-use design IP blocks, said Iain Rutherford, business line manager for X-FAB's MEMS foundry service.

X-FAB is an analog/mixed-signal foundry group manufacturing silicon wafers for analog-digital integrated circuits (mixed-signal ICs). X-FAB maintains wafer production facilities in Erfurt and Dresden, Germany; Lubbock, TX; and Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia with approximately 2,400 employees worldwide.

Osram Extends its LED Capacity in China

The new plant, which will assemble III-V nitride based LED chips into lighting components strengthens the company's position in the lighting industry’s largest market

Osram has signed a contract with the Wuxi New District Administrative Committee to build a new assembly plant in the Chinese province of Jiangsu.

LED chips will be packaged in housings at the new backend facility starting in late 2013; with the Regensburg and Penang (frontend) plants exclusively continuing to make the actual LED chips.

"The new assembly plant will improve our access to the world's largest single market in the lighting industry," says Aldo Kamper, CEO of the Osram Opto Semiconductors business unit.

"As one of the world’s most renowned LED lighting corporations, Osram's new plant in Wuxi will definitely enhance the development of the LED industry in both Wuxi Municipality and Jiangsu Province," adds Lixin Huang, Member of the Standing Committee of Jiangsu Provincial CPC Committee and Secretary of Wuxi Municipal CPC Committee in China.

In the face of sharply rising demand for LED-based products, Osram has opted to set up a further plant in Wuxi, China, to augment the capacity of its chip plants in Regensburg, Germany and Penang, Malaysia.

With this move, the company is strengthening its access to the lighting industry’s largest single market worldwide. The new plant is scheduled to be up and running by the end of 2013 and may need up to 1,600 employees when fully operational.

The new backend facility at Wuxi near Shanghai will install LED chips manufactured in the frontend plants at Regensburg and Penang in their housings. The new assembly plant in Wuxi will also enhance the Penang plant by manufacturing general, automotive and industrial lighting products for key segments of the Chinese market.

The plant’s added back-end LED capacity will enable the company to capitalize on China's fast-growing market and support the two plants in Germany and Malaysia. "We have attained a leading position in the semiconductor sector over the course of about 40 years. The facility in China marks another step forward in extending this lead," points out Aldo Kamper.

Market researchers at IMS Research have predicted strong growth for opto semiconductors such as LED components and laser diodes with average growth rates of around five percent worldwide in the coming years.

The fastest growth is expected to come in China at the same time, with an average growth rate of ten percent. This growth potential extends beyond components. According to a market survey conducted by McKinsey, the rapidly growing Asian region today already accounts for around 35 percent of today’s global general lighting market.

This share is expected to increase to 45 percent by 2020. The Chinese market alone, worth over €8 billion today, is expected to more than double by 2020. In fiscal 2011, Osram generated about one fifth of the Group’s revenue in the Asia-Pacific region, where it employs over 16,000 people. Osram says this workforce is larger than that of any other region worldwide, and roughly half of it is employed in China.

UMC Facility Breaks Ground in Taiwan

A new facility at United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC)'s 12-inch wafer plant in the Southern Taiwan Science Park broke ground, marking the start of a project to produce chips on the 28, 20 and 14 nanometer processes, Taiwan's official Central News Agency reported.

UMC, the world's second largest contract chip maker, said the investment in the fifth and sixth phases of the 12-inch wafer plant in the southern science park will total about US$8 billion (NT$236.8 billion). The new facility is scheduled to be completed in 2013, and UMC is expected to install production equipment there in the second half of that year, the company said.

The two new phases of the 12-inch plant are scheduled to become operational in 2014 with a monthly capacity of 50,000 units, featuring the production of chips on the sophisticated 28, 20 and 14 nanometer processes, UMC said, and the news agency reported.

Dr. Shih-Wei Sun, CEO of UMC, said, "This past decade, UMC's 300mm fabs in Taiwan and Singapore helped UMC strengthen our position as a first-tier foundry provider. Our internal R&D efforts continue to prove successful with the development of progressive advanced technologies. 28nm Poly SiON is now ramping mobile communication and computing products, 28nm Gate-Last HK/MG is set to start pilot production of flagship products in 2H this year, and 20nm HK-Last HK/MG and 14nm FinFET are advancing smoothly. UMC also cooperates closely with customers on 300mm specialty technologies such as HV, embedded non-volatile memory, BSI CMOS image sensor, 2.5D interposer, and 3D IC TSV to provide a truly comprehensive, leading foundry technology platform. We believe that supply chain collaboration will become increasingly important to address dynamic market requirements while minimizing risk. The P5-P8 fab complex will be characterized by close partnerships with customers and vendors to align with their technology roadmaps, enabling customers to introduce their future products while propelling UMC growth. Going forward, UMC's 'customer-driven foundry solution' approach will ensure UMC's sustained competitiveness, profitability, and ROE improvement for years to come."

UMC has operated in the Tainan Science Park since November 1999, when Fab 12A was established as Taiwan's first 300mm fab. The state-of-the-art P5 & P6 will provide advanced 28nm, 20nm, and 14nm capacity, and is scheduled for equipment move-in during the second half of 2013. Total cleanroom area is 53,000m2 (567,100 sq. ft.), about the size of 10 American football fields. P5 & P6 are planned to create 2,600 jobs and to contribute 50K wafers per month, bringing total monthly design capacity for Fab 12A to 130K wafers. With the planned P7 & P8, the eight phase fab complex will have a total design capacity of 180K wafers per month. UMC continues to expand in the Tainan Science Park to fulfill its commitment to "invest in Taiwan as a base for establishing a global presence."

ON Semi Expands in Czech Republic

ON Semiconductor expands R&D operations in Roznov with opening of a new design centre.

ON Semiconductor has expanded its operations located in Roznov with the opening of a new 4,000 square meter state-of-the-art research and design (R&D) facility. The center, located on the company’s Roznov campus, is focused on the development of energy efficient power solutions for use in televisions, notebook computers, battery chargers, white goods, and LED lighting and wireless applications.

“ON Semiconductor’s new Roznov Design center and all our talented teams in Roznov and Brno play a key role within the company’s global network,” said Keith Jackson, president and CEO of ON Semiconductor. “The Roznov design team is charged with developing innovative technologies and products to improve energy usage within the myriad of electronics manufactured by our global customers. As such, the products being designed in the Czech Republic are helping to reduce energy consumption and improve overall CO2 emissions.”

Both ON Semiconductor and the Czech government have made important financial investments into the success of our employees here and the company’s R&D, manufacturing and business support operations located in Roznov and Brno. In recent years, ON Semiconductor has expanded its manufacturing capabilities and capacity at its Roznov fabs, built the new Roznov design center facility, and expanded its IT and new product design teams by more than 50 people.

“The ongoing cooperation and subsidy support we receive from the Czech government, Czechinvest and EU funds have been fundamental to our decision to continue to invest in and grow our operations in the Czech Republic,” said Keith Jackson, president and CEO for ON Semiconductor. “The government subsidies ON Semiconductor receives assist in the advanced training of our local teams and has enabled us to bring on some of the equipment necessary for the expansion of our research, design, laboratory and manufacturing operations here. We look forward to continuing to build upon our successful working partnerships with government leaders and our outstanding company teams in the Czech Republic.”

ON Semiconductor’s operations in the Czech Republic date back to 1999 when the company spun off from Motorola and took on the facilities and employees in Roznov. In the years since then, the number of Roznov design center employees has expanded from 12 to more than 100 design engineers. The entire Roznov campus, which includes the design center, a 6-inch wafer manufacturing fab, a silicon wafer production facility and business operations support teams now employs a total of approximately 1,300 people.

The design facility ON Semiconductor operates in Brno was acquired in 2008, employs almost 100 people, and is focused primarily on development of state-of-the-art analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits for automotive applications. The company is also active with area universities to support and connect electronics engineering education and students with the industry.

Infineon Breaks Ground on New Facility in Livonia

A semiconductor manufacturer broke ground on a new building in Livonia to accommodate additional engineering facilities and an expanded test lab.

Infineon Technologies will be moving into a new 46,000-square-foot building on a four-acre site at 19401 Victor Parkway. Infineon is the world’s second largest supplier of semiconductors to the automotive industry and reported $5 billion in revenue in 2011 with close to 26,000 employees worldwide.

Currently located at 19111 Victor Parkway, Infineon plans to occupy the new facility, located adjacent to Davenport University, in January 2013. Northern Equities Group of Farmington Hills will build the LEED-certified building with the latest green technology. Construction began in March.

“Our new building will be doubling the space we have today,” said Shawn Slusser, vice president of sales and marketing for Infineon’s Automotive Division. “We will have space for 140 employees. Today we have 90 employees.” Infineon will be seeking individuals with advanced business degrees and advanced engineering degrees, Slusser said.

The building will allow for an expanded quality applications lab and engineering lab, Slusser said. “It will allow expanded analysis capabilities,” Slusser said. The groundbreaking featured Slusser, John Zielinski, vice president of power management and multi-market for Infineon; Mayor Jack Kirksey, State Rep. John Walsh, State Sen. Glenn Anderson and Neil Sosin, president of Northern Equities Group.

Afterward, Slusser said the company expanded knowing that the future of the company’s product, semiconductors, was bright in terms of mobility and energy efficiency in the automotive industry.

“In our five- to 10-year plan, we see that the business will continue to grow,” Slusser said. “We are out of space. We had to have more room and had to have one building.”

Infineon’s integrated circuits or semiconductors are used on circuit boards inside cars. “Integrated circuits control the electric motor,” Slusser said. “They deliver energy to the electric motor.”

The company displayed a 2012 Ford Focus Electric and a 2013 GM Malibu Eco. Infineon’s technology controls the Focus’ electric drivetrain, enabling zero emissions, and improves fuel economy in the Malibu by 25 percent and is also used in that vehicle’s stability control system.

Slusser was asked about some of the hurdles with the electric vehicle technology, given the $42,000 price for a Chevy Volt. Slusser said that today the business represents a small share of the market, approximately 5 percent.

“I believe it will be a small share through 2020,” Slusser said. “What the carmakers are working on is how to improve fuel economy. Whether it is electric or conventional engine controls, we need electronics to do that.” Semiconductors will help companies with that technology to achieve better mileage in the future, Slusser said.

The building also will contain components sourced within 500 miles to help meet LEED certification. “The steel came from within 500 miles,” Slusser said. “Furniture will be provided by Steelcase (in Grand Rapids). A white roof will be used to reflect the sunlight.” The parking area will include electric vehicle charging stations for customers and employees, Slusser said.

Sosin said the building will be Northern Equities’ first LEED-certified structure the company has built. Northern Equities will own and manage the building.

“It will have a specialized landscaping with drought-tolerant plants, and sunshades over the windows to reduce the sunlight on them,” Sosin said. Extra insulation and occupancy switches will turn off lights when rooms are unoccupied, Sosin said.

Kulicke & Soffa Expands

Semiconductor assembly equipment supplier Kulicke & Soffa broke ground on its Singapore global headquarters expansion, near the current leased headquarters location. A state-of-the-art 30,000m2 (322,800 sq. ft.) facility in Serangoon will bolster the company’s R&D and manufacturing capabilities, and host service and support functions.

The new headquarters should be completed in H2 2013. The additional “infrastructure and scale” were necessitated by Kulicke & Soffa’s growth over its 12 years in Singapore, said Bruno Guilmart, president and CEO. Guilmart praised Singapore’s proximity to the company’s semiconductor packaging customers and supply chain, and the encouraging work environment. Tan Choon Shian, Deputy Managing Director, Economic Development Board, called the expansion a “significant commitment” for Singapore’s precision manufacturing environment.

Kulicke & Soffa makes semiconductor and light-emitting diode (LED) assembly equipment, offering ball bonding and die and wedge bonding tools.

SMIC Expands Beijing Fab

China-based semiconductor foundry Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation signed a cooperation framework document between its subsidiary SMIC Beijing and the Beijing municipal government, forming a joint venture for SMIC Beijing's expansion adjacent to its 12” mega-fab.

Beijing officials attended the signing ceremony along with SMIC's Chairman Zhang Wenyi. The semiconductor industry is an innovation-driven high-tech industry and is a priority for the Beijing municipal government. SMIC Beijing praised the “considerable technology, talent, customer relationships, and operational experience” it has gained in this location.

SMIC Beijing was registered in 2002 in the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Area (BDA), and commenced operation in September 2004 as mainland China's first 12” wafer fab. It is also SMIC's largest 12” wafer manufacturing base. SMIC Beijing achieved 90nm volume production in 2006, 65nm volume production in 2009, and 55nm volume production in 2011.

The SMIC Beijing second phase expansion project will be constructed with support from the Beijing municipal government. It will be located adjacent to SMIC Beijing's current 12” mega-fab, and will operate at the 45/40nm and 32/28nm technology nodes. After the second phase expansion, SMIC Beijing will have a larger manufacturing base capable of producing at more advanced technology nodes and at a lower cost, thus achieving improved efficiency and economies of scale.

Solid order momentum, improved outlook from its chip customers, and better fab utilization led SMIC to raise its Q1 2012 revenue guidance last month.

SMIC has a 300mm fab and 3 200mm wafer fabs in its Shanghai mega-fab, two 300mm wafer fabs in its Beijing mega-fab, a 200mm wafer fab in Tianjin, and a 200mm fab under construction in Shenzhen. It also recently formed a new IC research program with Brite Semiconductor (Shanghai) Corporation and Zhejiang University IC and Basic Software Research Institute.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation is one of the leading semiconductor foundries in the world and the largest and most advanced foundry in Mainland China.

NXP Opens Singapore R&D Center

NXP Semiconductors N.V. has opened a research and development center in Singapore. According to the company the new R&D facility will initially focus on select research areas including advanced applications, mixed-signal design and process technology. The long-term plan for the center is to explore opportunities of extending the scope of research areas to eventually become an NXP-wide R&D center.

Some projects in the line for NXP's R&D facility include collaborating with the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) to develop Car-to-X detection in order to increase safe driving, and collaborating with research institutes and universities to develop smart environment sensors for buildings to improve comfort control and enhance energy and cost savings.

"As Singapore is an important regional hub, and the headquarters for our APAC operations, it was a strategic decision for us to extend our geographical R&D base here," said Hans Rijns, senior vice president and manager, NXP Research. "We plan to recruit the finest R&D talent in Singapore and are excited to closely collaborate with the leading local research and tertiary institutions to significantly accelerate specific research topics that will benefit the local and regional markets in the future," Rijns added.

NXP plans to invest more than $15.90 million (S$20 million) in the R&D facility and aims to have a headcount of up to 50 employees.

"We are pleased that NXP, one of the world's largest semiconductor companies, will establish in Singapore another corporate research center outside Europe. This significant addition to our semiconductor ecosystem will create good job opportunities for those looking to push the frontiers of technology," Yeoh Keat Chuan, assistant managing director, Singapore Economic Development Board.

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