Technical Insight
Knowledge*on plans 6 inch GaAs foundry (GaAs News)
Knowledge*on plans 6 inch GaAs foundry As reported extensively in this magazine, a number of GaAs foundry projects are underway in Taiwan (see Compound Semiconductor February 2001, p56), although given the current state of the GaAs industry it remains to be seen how many of these will be successful. Other Asian countries are also planning to enter the foundry business, notably the Korean company Knowledge*on. Formerly known as Optel, the company is an established manufacturer of optoelectronic devices, claiming to be the world s leading supplier of infrared LED chips. Knowledge*on has now established a GaAs foundry, which should be operational in Q3 of 2001. The fab will offer InGaP HBTs, RFICs and MMIC for wireless (CDMA, GSM, DCS, 3G etc) and fiber-optic (40 Gbit/s) communication applications. The 6 inch production line will be housed in a 35 000 sq.ft facility, and at present Knowledge*on estimates it will have a capacity of 3000 wafers per month. Correction In a previous issue (see Compound Semiconductor February 2001, p56) we discussed a new Taiwanese GaAs foundry project, G-Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing. We have since learned that following a groundbreaking ceremony last July, the company has disappeared without trace. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.
