Standard MEMS Announces US$ 160 Million Investment in Joint Venture Wafer Fab in Germany
25 September 2000
Standard MEMS Announces US$ 160 Million Investment in Joint Venture Wafer Fab in Germany
BURLINGTON, Mass.--Sept. 25, 2000--Standard MEMS, Inc., the largest independent high-volume manufacturer of Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) for high technology markets and Philips Semiconductors, a division of Royal Philips Electronics, today announced a joint venture to build a MOS-8" wager manufacturing facility for MEMS and integrated discrete semiconductors in Itzehoe, Germany. Other minority interests in the joint venture will be held by the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicon Technology (ISIT) and MGB Schleswig-Holstein (a regional venture capital company).The fab will be dedicated to the production of MEMS and CMOS products using 0.35 and 0.25 micron CMOS processes. Research and development of new MEMS products will also be conducted at the facility in close collaboration with the scientific and engineering staff for the Fraunhofer Institute (ISIT) in addition to other public and private research institutes throughout Europe.
The fab will have a capacity of 300,000 8" wafers per year. Silicon output will be shared between Standard MEMS and Philips Semiconductors, while Fraunhofer ISIT and MGB of Schleswig-Holstein will be strategic, financial partners in the joint venture.
Building of the new fab will commence in December 2000; with the first silicon being produced in the second half of 2002. The new fab will create up to approximately 200 new jobs. The site in Itzehoe, north of Hamburg, Germany had been chosen due to the proximity to Fraunhofer ISIT's existing 6" wafer fab site. This ensures availability of a local (technical) infrastructure and government supportive of high-technology manufacturing.
Nicholas E. Ortyl, President and CEO, Standard MEMS said, "This is by far the most important investment for our future growth and success. Philips Semiconductors has a very close alignment to our own business objective in CMOS technology. We look forward to becoming an important design and production resource to Philips Semiconductors, as well as other companies with MEMS production requirements."
"This joint investment is in line with our global strategy to consolidate our position as a leading supplier of integrated cellular terminal solutions," said Rick Goeld, executive vice-president and general manager of the MultiMarket Products Business Unit, Philps Semiconductors. "Securing long term supply of CMOS wafers via a joint venture with Standard MEMS will enable Philips Semiconductors to become a leading player in the Integrated Discretes and Power Amplifier Antenna market."
Prof. Anton Heuberger, Director Fraunhofer Institut fur Siliziumtechnologie (ISIT), expressed his conviction, that Itzhoe will establish itself as a leading semiconductor location with the addition of this new fab. The location offers the companies a competent infrastructure, especially in the R&D area. The new fab will increasingly bring MEMS into industrial applications. For this objective Fraunhofer ISIT has been striving for more than 20 years.
Dr. Bernd Rohwer, Minister of Economics and Technology in the German State Schleswig Holstein, commented, "By building the worlds foremost MEMS manufacturing facility here in Schleswi-Holstein, Stand MEMS and Philips Semiconductors are bringing 200 new jobs to the region. This is further evidence that our State is becoming a centre of manufacturing for this rapidly growing segment of the electronics industry."
Philips Semiconductors output will consist of integrated discretes and key markets are in telecommunications, mainly cellular phones and pagers. High growth rates are expected for this market. The latest worldwide cellular phone production forecast from Dataquest shows an expected volume increase from 450 million chips in 2001 to over one billion in 2003/2004. The new fab will secure a cost-effective solution for future MOS wager supply for the manufacture of integrated discretes and RF front-end PA modules for cellular terminals.
The application of MEMS (MST) devices is growing rapidly. While ink jet technology has been depending on MEMS components for years, growth in other areas is demanding production capacity. The new fab is designed to produce sensors, medical devices and telecommunication components for Standard MEMS customer-Europe and other markets.
For information about the joint venture, please visit: www.standardmemsandphilips.com.
For further information about Standard MEMS, Inc., please visit: www.stdmems.com.