Now Portugal woos chipmakers
12/01/2000
As chipmakers collectively contemplate building another two dozen fabs over the coming three years, Portugal says it wants to be the next hot chipmaking hub, and has three prequalified fab sites ready to go.
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The three sites, all capable of supporting 300mm fabs, are located in northern Portugal's Porto region, about 300km north of Lisbon.
M+W Zander, Stuttgart, Germany and US-based site selection firm Angelou Economic Advisors have prequalified the sites for fab development under a recently completed site assessment study commissioned by ICEP-Portugal, the Portuguese government's investment agency. Portugal joins a long list of regions that want to develop a semiconductor industry within their boundaries, and faces stiff competition from areas like Asia-Pacific, and some US states. For example, IBM is building its new 300mm fab in New York. While the chipmaker is headquartered there, its decision to build the fab in the region wasn't a sure bet. Since 1997, New York's government has been aggressively courting chipmakers, offering tax cuts and incentives, and prepermitted fab sites. IBM's $2.5 billion project will create 1000 new jobs. In return, IBM will receive some $475 million in incentives, $28.75 million in state grants and loans, and is eligible for $156 million in sales tax and local benefits/exemptions. New York state officials say the package "substantially enhanced New York State's position against aggressive incentive packages from competing states and countries."
Wolfgang Riedel, project manager for the industrial engineering activities of M+W Zander's manufacturing technology group, says financial incentives may be available to chipmakers for locating in the Porto region. Porto already is home to operations of a number of electronics companies, including some of Infineon Technologies' back-end operations. "Portugal's academic and government institutions are leading the charge toward a technology-based economy, and Portugal's favorable development status in the European Union offers new competitive inducements to accelerate this process," said Riedel. "Portugal is now one of the most dynamic economies and low-cost business environments in Europe."
To date, no chipmaker has publicly disclosed plans to build a fab in the region. VLSI Research analyst Risto Puhakka notes that a quality workforce is a key factor in fab site selection. Successful semiconductor regions such as Dresden and Ireland have been able to offer skilled workforces; if Porto can do the same, its chances of success are high, says Puhakka. "You can import capital equipment. That's not an issue," he said. "The biggest issue in selecting any region for a fab is looking into the labor pool locally. It's exactly the same issue for Porto."
Riedel says Portugal does tout a high number of engineers and scientists, and its schools have a "strong focus on technology and support for local industrial employers." In addition, the Porto region is within 15 miles of Porto International Airport, and is close to sea cargo and major highway infrastructure.
According to the fab site study, the three Porto region sites — Casteloes, Laundos, and Modivas/Vila Cha — are all at least 125 acres, have no overhead power lines, have a minimum wastewater capacity of one million gallons/day, and have a good bedrock of sand subsoil. The proposed sites are owned by town councils and private owners, and are now used for a mix of industrial, forestry, and agriculture purposes. ICEP officials plan to make the study results available to those evaluating the region to help allay pre-site analysis costs.
European POs
DuPont Photomasks has ordered a Sigma laser pattern generator for the 0.13µm node from Micronic Laser Systems AB, Taby, Sweden. The system, scheduled for delivery in 2H01, is based on Micronic's spatial light modulator technology. IBM has ordered an MP80+ laser pattern generator from Micronic as well. Delivery is scheduled for 1H01. IBM will use the system for electronic packaging applications.
Trikon Technologies, Newport, UK, has received orders from two chipmakers for its Planar fxP Low K Flowfill systems. Both systems will be used as part of two separate low-k development programs.
ASM International, Bilthoven, The Netherlands, said its US subsidiary will supply multiple Epsilon single wafer epitaxial reactors to ATMI. The systems will be used to expand epi production at ATMI's Epitaxial Services foundry.
Leica Microsystems, Wetzlar, Germany, has shipped its first DUV-based photomask CD measurement system, the LWM 250DUV, to a major Japanese maskmaker. The firm says it is increasing investments in an "above average amount" for its semiconductor business due to strong demand. The company also will expand its cleanroom production area by 225m2.