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Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Proud_Infidel who wrote (47790)	6/8/2001 5:28:51 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 70976

Korea's Dongbu breaks ground for 300-mm fab after starting foundry services By Mark LaPedus Semiconductor Business News (06/08/01 08:25 a.m. EST) SAN MATEO, Calif. -- Silicon foundry startup Dongbu Electronics Co. Ltd. in South Korea has been offering its services for only two months, but the chip maker is already aggressively moving into its next growth phase, said company officials in an interview here. Not only has the Seoul-based company started production in a 200-mm wafer fab, but it has also broke ground for its initial 300-mm plant and raised $310 million in second-round financing. The new funding brings the total capitalization for the foundry company to $750 million, said Dongbu managers. Dongbu also says it has developed some new and advanced process technologies for its 200-mm (8-inch) fab, which located in Eumsung near Seoul. Company managers said the production plant is capable of handling 0.25- to 0.13-micron processes just two months after its officially opened up for foundry services (see April 19 story). Initially, Dongbu will process wafers based on a process technology licensed from Japan's Toshiba Corp. But the Korean company will shortly also offer its own, internally-developed process technology, which is said to be "compatible" with that from the world's leading foundry provider--Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC). And to boost its foundry service capabilities, Dongbu has also develop aInternet-based online system for customers that want to track their wafers in real time. There is one problem, however. Dongbu is ramping up its foundry business during one of the worst downturns in the foundry business. Company executives are still bullish about the future prospects of the semiconductor and foundry businesses, of course. "I'm optimistic," said Wesley Min, chief operating officer for Dongbu. "As long as we have a strong economy, I think the semiconductor [and foundry markets] will rebound in the fourth quarter of this year," Min said in an interview at SBN's San Mateo office on Thursday. In fact, Dongbu's managers believe the current downturn has some advantages for a startup. "We'd like to step into a raging market," said Peter Hillen, Dongbu's executive vice president of marketing and sales and president of the company's U.S. operations in Mountain View, Calif. "The downturn gives up a chance to see and evaluate the market," Hillen added. Downturn or not, Dougbu still plans to become a top-tier player in the business. "We still have to walk before we crawl," Hillen said. "But our sights are not on the foundry companies that are just starting out [in China, Malaysia, and other regions]. We will zoom past those guys," he added. Company managers believe Dongbu has at least four competitive advantages over the newcomers--and established players--in China, Malaysia, and, for that matter, Taiwan. First, Dongbu has strong backing from its parent--the Dougbu Group, Korea's seventh largest conglomerate with $7 billion in sales last year. Second, it has strong support from the Korean government. Third, it benefits from a strong semiconductor infrastructure in Korea. In fact, Korea is a major hub for chip packaging and related IC industries, said the Dongbu managers. And more importantly, the company has a proven process technology from Toshiba, they added. Last year, Toshiba agreed to invest $50 million in Dongbu Electronics over a two-year period in return for a portion of the foundry's capacity (see July 3 story). Dongbu said it has also received the rights to the use of Toshiba's cell library of analog, logic and I/O functions--as well as full access to the company's 0.25-, 0.18- and 0.13-micron CMOS process technologies. Dongbu's existing 8-inch fab is processing wafers with linewidth geometries of 0.25-micron right now, but it will move down to 0.18-micron by year's end, said the managers. The plant will process wafers based on two technologies. One is based on Toshiba's technology, while the other is built around Dongbu's own process. Min claims the Dongbu technology will be compatible with TSMC's foundry process. He said this dual-process approach will enable Dongbu to offer some competitive and flexible choices for customers. "We will offer our own technology within the next couple of months," said Dongbu's chief financial officer. "The basic elements are the same as TSMC's. We are using the same metal-aluminum. We can also match their design rules." The company is also in the planning stages for its next fab---a 300-mm wafer plant that will be capable of 0.10- to 0.07-micron processes. Dongbu has already broke ground on the fab which will cost between $2.5-to-3 billion and open in the middle of 2004, Min said. In total, the company has the land to build seven wafer fabs, he added.