14 DAY TRIAL // The European Commission has just awarded a one-year joint contract to a pair of consultancy firms with expertise in the semiconductor industry to investigate the benefits of establishing a 450-mm semiconductor prototype foundry in Europe.
The executive body is interested to find out if this measure could allow Europe to regain its role in the microelectronics market.
"With strong and accelerating globalization of research, development, innovation and manufacturing, the sector of micro/nanoelectronics in Europe has become fragile and must look for new ways to maintain and enhance its competitiveness," reads a European Commission background document about this process.
According to EETimes, the study will analyze what it's required to support research and innovation for the production of integrated circuits using 450mm wafers as well as the measures needed to attract investments in this field.
EC's plans in this regard are rather extensive and cover research infrastructures, prototyping and early manufacturing.
This move could benefit Europe in more ways than one as two of the most important semiconductor equipment manufacturers, ASML Holding and ASM International, are based here.
Until now, equipment suppliers have been reluctant to develop the tools needed for the transition to 450mm wafers as they still haven't managed to get the profit they anticipated from the switch to 300mm.
The main problem, however, is that indigenous companies, such as STMicroelectronics, aren't yet prepared to make the switch to 450mm wafers, other European foundries, such as X-FAB Silicon, also having troubles in making such a transition.
This only leaves GlobalFoundries and Intel, both of these company's owning fabrications facilities in Europe.
However, the former has not manifested any interest in switching to 450mm, while Intel is getting ready to start 450mm research and development at one of its US-based fabs in 2013.
The move to 450mm could allow integrated circuit manufacturers to maximize their chip yields, leading to a decrease in production costs.