Globalfoundries Inc. is one of the world's largest independent
semiconductorA semiconductor is a material that has an electrical resistivity between that of a conductor and an insulator, that is, generally in the range 10
3 Siemens/cm to 10
−8 S/cm. Devices made from semiconductor materials are the foundation of modern electronics, including radio,...
foundriesIn the microelectronics industry, a semiconductor fabrication plant is a factory where devices such as integrated circuits are manufactured....
, with its headquarters located in
SunnyvaleSunnyvale may refer to:*Sunnyvale, California, a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States*Sunnyvale, Missouri, a former village in northern Newton County, Missouri, United States*Sunnyvale, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, Texas, United States...
,
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
. Globalfoundries was created by the divestiture of the foundry business of
AMDAdvanced Micro Devices, Inc. is an American multinational semiconductor company based in Sunnyvale, California, that develops computer processors and related technologies for commercial and consumer markets...
on March 2, 2009. Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC) is the largest investor in the company (66 percent).
Globalfoundries manufactures integrated circuits in high volume mostly for semiconductor companies such as AMD and
STMicroelectronicsSTMicroelectronics is an Italian-French electronics and semiconductor manufacturer headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.While STMicroelectronics corporate headquarters and the headquarters for Europe and emerging markets, are based in Geneva, the holding company, STMicroelectronics N.V...
.
The company has two 300mm fabrication plants, one operating in
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
, and one under construction in
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Globalfoundries will service the manufacturing needs of AMD and will also offer an expanded roadmap of technologies to third-party customers through its high volume foundry services.
Globalfoundries Inc. is one of the world's largest independent
semiconductorA semiconductor is a material that has an electrical resistivity between that of a conductor and an insulator, that is, generally in the range 10
3 Siemens/cm to 10
−8 S/cm. Devices made from semiconductor materials are the foundation of modern electronics, including radio,...
foundriesIn the microelectronics industry, a semiconductor fabrication plant is a factory where devices such as integrated circuits are manufactured....
, with its headquarters located in
SunnyvaleSunnyvale may refer to:*Sunnyvale, California, a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States*Sunnyvale, Missouri, a former village in northern Newton County, Missouri, United States*Sunnyvale, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, Texas, United States...
,
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
. Globalfoundries was created by the divestiture of the foundry business of
AMDAdvanced Micro Devices, Inc. is an American multinational semiconductor company based in Sunnyvale, California, that develops computer processors and related technologies for commercial and consumer markets...
on March 2, 2009. Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC) is the largest investor in the company (66 percent).
Globalfoundries manufactures integrated circuits in high volume mostly for semiconductor companies such as AMD and
STMicroelectronicsSTMicroelectronics is an Italian-French electronics and semiconductor manufacturer headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.While STMicroelectronics corporate headquarters and the headquarters for Europe and emerging markets, are based in Geneva, the holding company, STMicroelectronics N.V...
.
The company has two 300mm fabrication plants, one operating in
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
, and one under construction in
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Overview
Globalfoundries will service the manufacturing needs of AMD and will also offer an expanded roadmap of technologies to third-party customers through its high volume foundry services. It currently owns two fabrication plants, named Globalfoundries Fab 1 (Module 1 & 2), in Dresden, and another upcoming plant is Globalfoundries Fab 2 in New York.
Fab 1, Dresden, Germany
The Dresden fabrication plant, Fab 1, is a 364,512 m² plant. When transferred to Globalfoundries in its inception, Fab 36 and Fab 38 were renamed Module 1 and Module 2, respectively. Each module can produce 25,000 wafers per month.
Module 1 is a 300-mm wafer production facility. It is capable of manufacturing wafers at 65 nm and 45 nm for use in AMD CPUs, APUs, and future 32-nm SOI silicon.
Module 2 is in a transition period, converting from 200-mm to 300-mm wafer production for 55 nm and 40 nm for use in chipsets, GPUs, and future 32-nm bulk silicon.
Fab 2, Saratoga County, New York, USA
The Saratoga plant is a new 300 mm Fab at the
Luther Forest Technology CampusThe Luther Forest Technology Campus or LFTC is a 1,414-acre site specifically designed for semiconductor and nanotechnology manufacturing and other innovative technologies. The site is environmentally friendly and pre-approved with convenient dedicated Interstate highway access only 1.5 miles away...
, New York. This fabrication plant was previously named Fab 4x when it was still part of AMD. It is going to be a new 29 nm wafer plant. The plant's construction is set to begin sometime in 2009 and the company expects to start mass production in 2012.
Merger with Chartered Semiconductor
The majority investor of Globalfoundries, Abu Dhabi's Advanced Technology Investment Co., announced on Sept. 6, 2009, that it has agreed to acquire Singapore-based
Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd.Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing is the world's fourth largest dedicated independent semiconductor foundry, with its headquarters and main operations located in the Woodlands Industrial Park, Kranji Singapore...
, for a total of $3.9 billion, with Chartered's operations being folded into Globalfoundries.
GlobalFoundries CEO Doug Grose will head the combined company while Chia Song Hwee, CEO of Chartered is expected to serve as chief operating officer.
Temasek HoldingsTemasek Holdings is an investment company owned by the government of Singapore. With an international staff of 350 people, it manages a portfolio of about S$185 billion, or more than US$127 billion, focused primarily in Asia...
, the Singapore government controlled investment outfit that controls more than 60 percent of Chartered, has "signed an irrevocable undertaking to vote in support of the transaction," the company said in the statement.
Chartered Semiconductor and Globalfoundries are both members of the
Common PlatformCommon Platform is a collaboration between IBM, GlobalFoundries, Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, and Samsung Electronics developed to implement a common process technology across all three companies' semiconductor manufacturing facilities....
,
IBMInternational Business Machines Corporation, abbreviated IBM, is a multinational computer technology and IT consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, Town of North Castle, New York, United States. The company is one of the few information technology companies with a continuous history dating...
's semiconductor technology alliance.