Infineon Technologies and Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing have signed an agreement for the manufacturing of 65 nanometer (nm) logic products. Infineon will have Chartered manufacture low-power mobile-phone products, with initial prototypes expected in the first quarter of 2006 and production scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2006.
This announcement builds on the joint 65nm technology development efforts between IBM, Infineon, Chartered and Samsung. This agreement with Chartered enables Infineon to participate at the cutting-edge of technological development in the semiconductor industry without having to invest in new manufacturing capacity. Infineon retains the flexibility to evolve its production skills in response to future market developments.
"Infineon has decided to have the 65nm technology, developed together with Chartered, IBM and Samsung, produced by Chartered in order to further expand its leading position in customized products while achieving profitable growth," said Dr. Wolfgang Ziebart, President and CEO of Infineon Technologies AG. "The traditional positioning of semiconductor companies along the entire value chain from development through to production and sales for logic products is in the process of changing and is therefore subject of optimizing capital investment and business development."
Chia Song Hwee, President and CEO of Chartered has said, "As a joint development alliance, Chartered, Infineon, IBM and Samsung are realizing significant economical and technological advantages by pooling resources and broad expertise. In this latest step, Infineon will benefit from a seam-less transition from development to manufacturing with one of its development partners, leveraging the manufacturing flexibility Chartered offers. Infineon can continue to focus on differentiating itself through development of low-power and customized products, while Chartered provides a reliable and cost-effective outsourcing solution to address Infineon's manufacturing needs."
During the next few months, employees from Infineon sites in Europe and the U.S. will deploy to Chartered to ensure the seamless integration of the process technology into Chartered's 300-millimeter facility, Fab 7. Meanwhile, more than 200 engineers from the four participating joint development companies continue to work together on the development of next-generation technologies, including 45nm, in East Fishkill, New York.
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