Samsung Electronics and Siltronic opened a new US$1 billion factory in Singapore Thursday to produce 300-millimeter silicon wafers for the chip industry.
The new joint venture factory, called Siltronic Samsung Wafer, took 18 months to build, the companies said. By 2010, the factory will produce 300,000 silicon wafers per month and employ 800 workers.
Silicon wafers are the raw material chips are made on. The 300mm (12-inch) size describes the diameter of the round wafers, which are round like a dinner plate but far heavier. Silicon is a common material found in sand and is valued for the way it can act as an insulator and conductor of electricity.
Silicon wafers are made in large tubes from which they are removed and then the silicon is sliced, like a loaf of bread, into many wafers.
Companies such as Samsung, the world's largest memory chip maker, then use these wafers to make chips on. A few thousand memory chips can be made on a single 300mm silicon wafer.
There have been some worries about the supply of silicon wafers in recent years because the polysilicon used to make them is also used in solar panels, another industry that has taken off. But analysts say the silicon used by the chip industry is of a far higher grade, and more expensive than that used by the solar panel industry, so polysilicon makers will always supply the chip industry first in the event of a true shortage.
- Sponsored Resource:Are you ready for virtualization? Try the sever assessment tool.
- Sponsored Resource:Learn more about ultra light notebooks from Asus and the best warranty in the industry.
- Sponsored Resource:Thinking about a new Laptop? Lenovo has models to meet everyone's needs.
- Sponsored Resource:Get the truth about remanufactured ink. Learn more from HP.
- Sponsored Resource:Six smart ways to grow small business IT
News For Your Business
- Samsung's X360: Lighter Than Air -- but Not Thinner
- Samsung Eyes Possible Acquisition of SanDisk
- Vodafone to Resell Dell's Netbook
- Keeping Score in the Thin TV Battle
- Patent Holders Cut Some DVD Licensing Rates
Community Comments