Infineon now has two large power semiconductor manufacturing sites for 300-millimeter thin wafers, one in Dresden and one in Villach
Infineon Technologies AG officially has opened its chip factory for power electronics on 300-millimeter thin wafers at its Villach site in Austria under the motto “Ready for Mission Future.” At 1.6 billion euros, the investment made by the semiconductor group represents one of the largest such projects in the microelectronics sector in Europe.
The Villach site is one of the world’s most modern fabs and was opened by Infineon CEO Reinhard Ploss, Infineon Austria CEO Sabine Herlitschka along with EU Commissioner Thierry Breton and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.
Sabine Herlitschka, the CEO of Infineon Technologies Austria AG, said, “With this investment, Infineon has demonstrated that it is also possible to build attractive production sites in Europe in the highly competitive microelectronics sector. We are setting new standards with this investment. The energy-saving chips from Villach will become important core elements for the energy transition. We are thus making a relevant contribution to the European Green Deal and beyond. We are ‘Ready for Mission Future.’”
The chips, at the factory, are manufactured on 300-millimeter thin wafers, which at 40 micrometers are thinner than a human hair. Villach is the Group’s center of expertise for power semiconductors and has long been an important innovation site in Infineon’s manufacturing network. It was here that the production of power semiconductors on 300-millimeter thin wafers was developed about 10 years ago. This was then expanded to fully automated volume production at the Dresden site in recent years. The use of this technology brings significant productivity advantages due to the larger wafer diameter and reduces capital expenditure.
“Infineon now has two large power semiconductor manufacturing sites for 300-millimeter thin wafers, one in Dresden and one in Villach. Both sites are based on the same standardized production and digitization concepts. This allows us to control the manufacturing operations at the two sites as if they were one factory,” notes Jochen Hanebeck, a member of the Management Board and Chief Operations Officer of Infineon.
The chip factory is one of the most modern in the world and relies on full automation and digitization. The chip factory is one of the most modern in the world and relies on full automation and digitization.
