Semiconductor Equipment

LA Semiconductor becomes newest US-based pure-play chip foundry

03 November 2022

LA Semiconductor has acquired On Semiconductor’s 200 mm manufacturing facility in Pocatello, Idaho, becoming the newest U.S.-owned and operated pure-play semiconductor foundry

Established by Linear ASICS in 2022, LA Semiconductor will use the fab for the manufacture of analog, mixed-signal and power semiconductors.

The fab is a 33-acre campus with more than 50,000 sq ft of cleanroom space and more than 550,000 sq ft of building space. The fab currently produces 0.35 micron to 1.5 micron CMOS, BCD, discrete and custom process technologies.

ATREG, which specializes in helping companies divest and acquire semiconductor fabs and cleanrooms, organized the acquisition of the fab and has worked with On Semiconductor through the mid-2000s.

On Semiconductor said it continues its divestment of fabs as part of a manufacturing strategy to create sustainable financial performance. This is being conducted by upscaling capacity for products in key markets such as automotive and industrial. On Semiconductor has previously divested two other manufacturing assets in the past 12 months, including the fabs in South Portland, Maine, and Oudenaarde, Belgium.

Currently, U.S.-based semiconductor pure-play foundries are few and far between with GlobalFoundries being the major player.

Intel has recently returned to the foundry business with its Intel Foundry Services capabilities that has signed up MediaTek in the summer and earlier signed up Amazon and Qualcomm as customers. Additionally, Intel has made the commitment to build two new fabs for foundry services at its Ocotillo campus in Arizona with the financial support from Brookfield Asset Management and earlier this year acquired Tower Semiconductor to further its foundry ambitions.

GlobalFoundries has expansion plans of its own with building a new facility adjacent to its existing Fab 8 facility in Malta, New York. The fab will create more than 1,000 new direct high-tech jobs and thousands of indirect jobs including construction. GlobalFoundries said it will fund the new fab through private-public partnerships including federal and state investments.

To contact the author of this article, email PBrown@globalspec.com


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