X-Fab to invest US$50m in cleanrooms, equipment, r&d and staff

Published: 28-Sep-2012

Will consolidate all MEMS manufacturing in Erfurt, Germany


X-Fab Silicon Foundries is to invest more than US$50m in the next three years in cleanroom space, new equipment, r&d and staff for its Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) operations.

The X-Fab MEMS Foundry on the firm’s campus in Erfurt, Germany focuses solely on advanced MEMS manufacturing and developments, and will consolidate all of its MEMS business and activities.

“Our customers will benefit from the dedicated resources and expertise of a foundry focused solely on advanced MEMS technology,” said Rudi De Winter, chief executive of X-Fab.

“This move is X-Fab’s next step towards our goal of becoming one of the top three worldwide suppliers of MEMS foundry services.”

X-Fab recently announced an open-platform MEMS 3-axis inertial sensor process, high-volume manufacturing of bulk and surface micromachined technologies, with and without CMOS integration, in-house technology platforms for mainstream MEMS applications such as pressure sensors, inertial sensors and infrared sensors and ready-to-use IP design blocks for MEMS accelerometers.

The firm makes silicon wafers for analog-digital integrated circuits in Erfurt and Dresden (Germany); Lubbock, Texas (US); and Kuching, Sarawak (Malaysia); and employs approximately 2,400 people worldwide.

Processes advanced modular CMOS and BiCMOS processes, as well as MEMS processes, with technologies ranging from 1.0 to 0.13 micrometres primarily for applications in the automotive, communications, consumer and industrial sectors.

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