August 31, 2007 – Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd. and Singapore’s Nanyang Technological U. have opened a 100sq. m “Chartered@NTU” joint lab to focus on nanoscale CMOS process technology and reliability.

Under the deal, NTU will provide the research “talent and expertise” (currently staffed with 20 graduate students) with Chartered offering its knowledge of the industry and chip manufacturing, and the lab also will provide training for NTU postgrads to work on real-world projects with Chartered engineers. The space includes 300mm wafer probers and “ultrafast” transient measurement systems for high-precision CMOS characterization, typically used for chips fabricated with 65nm process technologies.

“The semiconductor industry remains one of Singapore’s key economic contributors. Therefore, it is important to continuously drive cutting-edge research in this area to ensure that we remain ahead of the technology curve,” said Professor Kam Chan Hin, chair of NTU’s School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, in a statement. “NTU’s established R&D strength in microelectronics, coupled with Chartered’s industry experience and marketing know-how, ensures that the projects we work on jointly will be cutting-edge and commercially relevant.”

Through the collaboration, Chartered hopes to “capitalize on each other’s present and future resources such as manpower, technology, infrastructure and equipment,” and promote tech collaboration with hands-on training to strengthen local resources, added Ng Seng Huwi, VP for human resources at Chartered.