Zephyr Photonics Launches Semiconductor Services Business Unit

Zephyr Photonics Inc., a manufacturer of harsh environment, optical interconnect solutions for mission-critical intelligence, defense, aerospace, energy, and industrial applications, announces the launch of its Semiconductor Fabrication and Foundry Services (SFFS) business unit.

The company operates a 17,000 sq. ft. development and manufacturing facility in Zephyr Cove, Nev., which includes a 10,000 sq. ft. cleanroom for semiconductor epitaxial growth, as well as a variety of processing, testing, and production equipment for device fabrication and packaging as well as module assembly. The facility is accredited by DMEA as the only U.S. Trusted optoelectronic foundry and IC supplier; and is ITAR compliant and ISO 9001:2008-certified.

Zephyr Photonics CEO Tom Steding, states, "Our Semiconductor Fabrication and Foundry Services business unit was formed to match the growing demands of fabless semiconductor companies and semiconductor companies with our growth, fabrication, testing and production capabilities. Zephyr Photonics currently provides time-critical device development, testing and production services for a number of key industry customers."

Among Zephyr's' unique resources is its 10,000 square foot cleanroom in its Zephyr Cove facility, which includes a wide variety of growth, processing, testing, and production equipment. The facility is accredited by DMEA as the only U.S. Trusted optoelectronic foundry and IC supplier; and is ITAR compliant and ISO 9001:2008 certified. Zephyr Photonics' team combines more than 100 years of relevant experience and works seamlessly with its customers.

"Zephyr Photonics is excited about this opportunity to play a key fabrication role in the semiconductor industry, enabling our customers' innovation, and improving their time to market by leveraging our experience, in-depth knowledge, process libraries, IP and extensive facilities," says Tim McAllister, Zephyr Photonics' VP of Business Development.

"Our customers couldn't have been clearer, voicing their enthusiasm with our flexibility, responsiveness, time to market, and breadth of experience, which helps them to improve their own execution and downstream customer satisfaction. We believe our new business unit will grow to be a very important part of our overall corporate mission, to be a high-performance, specialized and trusted foundry partner," concludes McAllister.

Zephyr Photonics' SFFS is fully operational, and is now ready to begin customer engagements.

GlobalFoundries to Build Center at Fab 8 Campus

GlobalFoundries will build a multi-billion dollar research and development facility, which will include cleanroom space for semiconductor development, at its Fab 8 Campus in Upstate New York.

GlobalFoundries will build a new multi-billion dollar research and development facility at its Fab 8 Campus in Saratoga Springs, NY. The Technology Development Center (TDC) will include 90,000 sq. ft. of flexible cleanroom space that will house a variety of semiconductor development and manufacturing areas to support the transition to new technology nodes.

The TDC represents an additional investment of approximately $2 billion. It is expected to result in at least 500 new, high-paying jobs at the TDC, as well as 500 additional jobs at the GF Fab and administration buildings. Construction of the TDC is planned to begin in early 2013 with completion targeted for late 2014.

"This significant expansion demonstrates that the investments we have made in nanotechnology research across New York State are producing the intended return— the creation of high-paying jobs and generation of economic growth that is essential to rebuilding our state," says Gov. Andrew Cuomo. "New York has become the world's hub for advanced semiconductor research and now, the Technology Development Center will further help ensure the innovations developed in New York, in collaboration with our research institutions, are manufactured in New York."

GlobalFoundries CEO Ajit Manocha says, "New York State's continued support of the semiconductor industry has created a strong collaborative ecosystem and helped pave the way for this additional investment. The new TDC will help us bridge between the lab and the Fab by taking research conducted with partners and further developing the technologies to make them ready for volume manufacturing."

California-based GlobalFoundries was spun off from Advanced Micro Devices Inc. The company began building its factory complex in Malta in 2009 and currently employs about 2,000 people.

Samsung Plans Investment in Austin Fab

Samsung Austin Semiconductor announced $4 billion investments in its Austin, TX facilities. The site is on schedule for production in 2H13 for mobile application processors (28nm process technologies on 300mm wafers). Samsung Austin Research Center also is adding about 200 engineers to fuel this effort, according to the company. The commitment -- representing the largest single foreign investment ever made in the state of Texas -- will bring Samsung's total investment in its Austin Semiconductor unit to more than $15 billion since 1996.

The original Samsung Austin investment announcement, a 3Q12 retrofit had been seen as one of the key capex drivers for the latter half of this year. Samsung is expected to push its capex by 11 percent in 2012 to $13.1 billion, just ahead of Intel's $12.5 billion (16% Y/Y growth) -- together representing fully 40 percent of worldwide capital spending this year.

Samsung is still investing to remain competitive with TSMC. Apple has openly partnered with Samsung in Austin to make the "engine" of the iPhone and iPad, despite the two companies' fierce and broad competition in finished electronics devices. That business is in doubt, though, as many speculate about the electronics giant will seek other noncompetitive partners for future chip orders. With this $4B pledge, even if Samsung loses Apple's business, it is sending a message to other fabless firms who may decide to grab some of that vacated capacity in 2013-2104.

Kansas State University Opens Cleanroom for Nuclear Contamination Tests

Kansas State University in the US has opened a US$3 million cleanroom designed to help research and develop new radiation detector technologies. It will also assist in designing mass production processes able to make such detectors at affordable prices.

Located in the university’s Semiconductor Materials and Radiological Technologies Laboratory (SMART), the cleanroom was built with the help of a US$2.7 million grant from the U.S. Defense Department’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

The laboratory will help the department organize large-scale production facilities for disposable radiation detectors for potential future radiation emergencies, such as that recently hitting Japan’s Fukushima power plant, said Douglas McGregor, SMART director and professor of nuclear engineering.

“Our mission is not to do just research with the new detectors we are developing, but also to pass the technology on to industry,” said Prof McGregor. “We have equipment that would be similar to what they would use in an industrial laboratory.”

The 1,000 sq. ft. Class 100 cleanroom will be used to make devices such as neutron detectors on silicon wafers, said the university. The development of radiation detectors is multifaceted, usually using crystalline solids, namely scintillators and semiconductors. Scintillators give off light when they react with radiation and one aim of ongoing research is to develop brighter scintillators. Novel semiconductors will also be developed at the laboratory.

“We have the capability of tailoring the type of detector we make to the needs the customers may have,” added Prof McGregor.

Lithuanian Brolis Semiconductors Opens New Laser-diode Facility

Brolis Semiconductors has opened a new production facility for laser diodes and molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) equipment. The site, in Vilnius, Lithuania, was established from scratch in just nine months, with total investment of around €5 million.

Brolis specializes in mid-IR type-I gallium antimonide (GaSb) laser diodes (1800-4000 nm wavelength) on GaSb substrates, targeting markets from gas sensing for industrial process monitoring, medical, and defense to high-power laser diodes and laser-diode bars for plastic laser welding. Earlier this summer, the company secured state support for its development of long wave-length semiconductor laser technology. It also has secured venture capital funding and grants from the EU.

The new building features Class 1000/10000 cleanroom environment with dedicated facilities for molecular beam epitaxy and optoelectronic device testing and packaging. Company COO Augustinas Vizbaras has said that its first laser products will fall in the 2090-3400 nm wave-length range, some of which will be for high power.

"This ceremony marks a great event for us, the cofounders, as well as our company people," said Dominykas Vizbaras, CEO of Brolis Semiconductors. He added that the company's next goal is to roll out its first batch of R&D laser diode products by the end of February 2013 and establish a position over the next few years "as a reliable supplier for mid-infrared optoelectronic components and epi-material in the global market."

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