Silterra Announces 0.18-Micron Process

Electronic News, August 20, 2001 by Tom Murphy

By trumpeting the availability of its 0.18-micron process technology, Silterra Malaysia Sdn. Bdn. hopes to stand above other foundry start-ups. By completing certification from a British standards institution on June 8, the foundry in Kulim, Malaysia, is well on its way.

Silterra went from groundbreaking to certification in approximately 24 months. "From greenfield to ISO qualifications, it may be the fastest that certification has been achieved," said Steve Della Rocchetta, vice president of marketing for Silterra. "With the certification, we are saying that our 0.18-micron process is ready so bring us your design activity."

Kulim is located near Penang, Malaysia, and is in close proximity to a number of Malaysian assembly and test houses for which the country has earned its niche in the semiconductor supply chain. Silterra positions its access to those services as a key marketing tool to lure customers, Della Rocchetta said.

With the announcement of its leading process geometries, two companies have already brought designs to Silterra, which will result in a multiproject wafer by the end of August, Della Rocchetta said. There are approximately 10 other companies interested in Silterra's services, which may also result in future multiproject wafers, he added. A multiproject wafer is a program where several companies can design their ICs on to one wafer to test the foundry's manufacturing ability and split the production costs.

The foundry made its debut at 0.25-micron technology, which would put it on par with rival 1st Silicon Sdn. Bdn. when the factory opened for production in February. However, by taking the leap to 0.18 micron in June and with a goal to reach 0.13 micron by the second half of 2002, Silterra believes it is not only ahead of competitors Dongbu Electronics and 1st Silicon, it also has the technology to compete with three of the larger players in the foundry business: Chartered Semiconductor of Singapore, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), and United Microelectronics Corp., both of Taiwan. "You can't serve a world market with just three companies," Della Rocchetta said. "You have to have more players."

Jim Hines, principal analyst with San Jose-based Gartner Dataquest, said that before the downturn most of the major fabs were just introducing 0.18-micron process, but the existing foundries didn't see a large volume of design activity there. As the market begins to turn around, demand for 0.18-micron process should be greater--which bodes well for Silterra.

With the tools installed at Silterra, the foundry can support 18,000 wafers per month. All of the equipment now is capable of supporting 0.18-micron process technology. Della Rocchetta said that once all of the company's equipment is installed to support 30,000 wpm, 80 percent of its equipment would be able to support 0.13-micron technology. "Our 0.13-micron technology is going to be a significant effort for us as we wrap up our 0.18-micron process," Della Rocchetta said.

The company is currently working to add fluorinated silicate glass (FSG) and mixed signal modules to its 0.18-micron process. "Our rich technology mix will be a differentiator from any of the newcomers in the foundry business," Della Rocchetta said.