Soitec to Invest $421M in 300mm Fab

Bernin, France-based silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer supplier Soitec SA announced yesterday it will invest approximately $421.3 million (350 million euros) in a new 300mm fab to satisfy the future demand of SOI wafers.

The company's strategic position and its technology make it possible to

Because of the anticipated growth in SOI adoption Soitec will build the new 300mm fab to be operational by the time its existing 300mm SOI wafer plant, Bernin II, reaches full capacity, Soitec said. Bernin II, completed in July of 2002, http://www.reed-electronics.com/electronicnews/article/CA234839 will have a capacity of 720,000 wafer starts per year when it reaches full capacity; the new fab will boost Soitec’s entire capacity to 1 million wafer starts per year, the company said.

Construction will begin before the end of 2007 and last between 12 and 18 months, according to Soitec. The company said it is still considering an exact location for the fab. To pay for the new plant it intends to raise equity financing that will represent 50 percent of the total investment in the new fab, with the remainder being financed through the company's internal cash flow.

Semi giants like IBM, AMD, Chartered, Freescale, Philips and Sony use SOI in their 90nm and 65nm technologies, according to the SOI wafer supplier.