Plans to leverage Fab 3 to meet future demand for SOI wafers and other engineered substrates
August 28, 2006 — /PRNewswire/ — BERNIN, France — Soitec (Euronext Paris), the world’s leading manufacturer of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers and other engineered substrates, today broke ground on its new 300 mm wafer fab in Singapore. The groundbreaking ceremony marked the start of construction at the company’s newest state-of-the-art production facility. Designated Fab 3, the facility is expected to start supplying the Group’s global customer base with SOI wafers in mid-2008, as it ramps to a final production capacity of one million wafers per year.
Fab 3 is Soitec’s first fab in Asia, and is a critical part of the Group’s strategic investment plan to expand its worldwide production capacity, enhance its ongoing R&D efforts, and forge closer relationships with its customers worldwide. Attending today’s ceremony in Singapore’s new Pasir Wafer Fab Park were notable dignitaries, including Soitec’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Andre-Jacques Auberton-Herve, and Singapore’s Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Mr. S. Iswaran.
“The construction of this, our newest and most advanced fab, represents the success of our business strategy to drive adoption of SOI and build the production capacity necessary to satisfy growing industry demand,” noted Auberton-Herve. “The performance and power-usage benefits associated with SOI are enabling a growing number of advanced electronic devices, especially leading-edge consumer digital products that are increasingly manufactured in Asia. With its strategic location in the heart of Asia, this new fab will help us develop even closer working relationships with our growing customer base in the region while also giving us access to the world-class business environment and talented workforce we were seeking in selecting the location of our third production facility.”
Construction of Fab 3 will take advantage of the newest in manufacturing technologies, as well as Soitec’s extensive engineered substrate production knowledge, gained from years of manufacturing experience. Fab 3 will utilize complete mini-environments in order to reduce wafer contamination risk and increase yields. The total investment in Fab 3 is expected to be approximately 350 million Euros; and when completed, it is anticipated that approximately 500 people will work inside this state-of-the-art facility.
Soitec is aggressively expanding its worldwide production capacity through ongoing fab construction and expansion efforts. Soitec’s Fab 3 is being built on 2.7 hectares with more than 4,000 square meters of clean room space, while additional land is available for future expansion. The Group is also currently expanding the production capacity of its Bernin II Fab in France. Ongoing capacity expansion efforts will open the door to a greater number of integrated device manufacturers, foundries and fabless companies planning to tap the powerful benefits of SOI. Today, approximately 95 percent of all SOI wafers acquired for production are built using Soitec’s patented Smart Cut(TM) process, which is now considered the de facto industry standard due to the quality, productivity and cost effectiveness of this process. Soitec believes that the combination of its advanced technology and growing production capacity, through projects such as the construction of Fab 3, will allow it to continue to lead the world in the development, manufacture and supply of advanced engineered substrates.
About The Soitec Group:
The Soitec Group is the world’s leading innovator and provider of the engineered substrates that serve as the foundation for today’s most advanced electronic products and nanotechnologies. Headquartered in Bernin, France, the company manufactures its comprehensive portfolio of engineered substrates, including silicon-on-insulator (SOI) and strained SOI (sSOI), using Soitec’s proprietary Smart Cut(TM) technology-the de facto industry standard. With its strong global presence, patented technology and industry-leading production capacity, Soitec is helping to drive the performance and power advantages that are key to the smaller, more power efficient, and increasingly mobile electronic products favored by consumers worldwide. Both shares and convertible bonds are listed on Euronext Paris. For more information, visit the company’s Web site located at www.soitec.com
NOTE: Soitec, Smart Cut and UNIBOND are trademarks of S.O.I.TEC Silicon On Insulator Technologies
Source: Soitec
CONTACT:
Camille Darnaud-Dufour, Vice President, Communications of Soitec, Mobile (France)
Tel: +33-6-79-49-51-43
E-mail: [email protected]
Kelly Picasso, Sr. Account Associate of MCA
Tel: +1-650-968-8900, ext. 127
E-mail:[email protected]
Web site: http://www.soitec.com/