Renewal programme

Singapore-based foundry Systems on Silicon Manufacturing (SSMC) celebrated its tenth anniversary of silicon manufacture with the news that it was to spend $30m split roughly 50/50 between research and development (R&D) and manufacturing. The investment is meant to keep SSMC´s production lines relevant in a business now dominated by plants that process larger wafers and which should be more cost-effective. Although 300mm foundry capacity is expanding fast, many applications in power and mixed-signal are finding new life in older 200mm fabs.