Intel Begins Joint 300mm Fab Project in Germany
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By David Manners, Electronics Weekly -- Electronic News, 2/20/2002
LISBON -- Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel Corp., in collaboration with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has embarked on setting up its first silicon germanium (SiGe) fab in Germany.
The fab venture, with a pricetag of about $1.1 billion (1.3 billion euros), is called Communicant and is based in the town of Frankfurt-Oder near Germany’s Polish border. It is Intel’s first SiGe fab, producing high frequency semiconductors operating up to 150GHz.
The project, which is already underway, has yet to meet its financial targets for backing, it emerged at the ISS 2002 Conference in Lisbon this week.
Among companies thought to be considering investing are Jenoptik, the equipment manufacturer and Merssner & Wurst Zander, the world's largest maker of clean-rooms, which is involved as a contractor.
The German state of Brandenburgh is said to be involved with subsidies and loan guarantees, and the European Investment Bank is also thought to be connected to the project.
The fab is to use a SiGe BiCMOS process developed by a Frankfurt-Oder Research House called the Institute for Halbleiterphysik. The research company is headed up by Abbas Ourmazd, who has business connections in Dubai. That prompted the involvement of the UAE.
Intel’s involvement with the project will provide it with a relatively inexpensive way to use SiGe technology for its communications IC division. |
