Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: StanX Long who wrote (64122)	5/31/2002 3:48:31 AM
From: StanX Long	Respond to of 70976

Raytheon invests and forms GaAs foundry alliance with Taiwan's Win Semi Semiconductor Business News (05/30/02 10:53 a.m. EST) siliconstrategies.com LEXINGTON, Mass. -- Raytheon Co. here today announced that it has formed a compound semiconductor foundry alliance and invested $5 million in Taiwan's Win Semiconductors Corp. Under the terms of the alliance, Win will manufacturer gallium-arsenide (GaAs) devices on a foundry basis for Raytheon's RF Components (RRFC) operation. Based in Taoyuan, Win is a pure-play foundry vendor that operates a 6-inch GaAs fab. The Taiwan company moved its fab into production in 2000 (see Sept. 15, 2000 story ). Raytheon and Win will also develop new process technologies for use in wireless applications. The U.S. company is developing power amplifier devices and other chips for handsets, wireless local area networks, and other products. After an extensive evaluation, RRFC took a bold step in its compound semiconductor outsourcing strategy. The U.S. operation transferred its InGaP/GaAs HBT (indium-gallium-phosphide heterojunction bipolar transistors) fab process and an RF product line from an internal four-inch, dual-use defense and commercial fab to Win's high-volume, six-inch wafer processing plant. Prototyping of InGaP/GaAs HBT devices started in the fourth quarter of 2001 and was completed in the first quarter of 2002, said Steven Kaspar, president and general manager of RRFC. “Raytheon RF Components is a leading supplier of GaAs-based MMICs, modules, and wireless systems for land, mobile and space-based communication systems,” Kaspar said. “Fab outsourcing to Win provides access to a total capacity addition of 100,000 six-inch wafers per year without adding risk or more investment to our cost structure. This enables RRFC to focus on our core strengths of advanced process, epitaxial material development and RF design,” he said. The alliance with Raytheon is also a major deal for Win. “The agreement not only validated that the concept of GaAs foundry services is feasible, but also endorsed Win's state-of-the-art, six-inch GaAs processing technology,” said C.S. Wu, president and CEO of Win.