Construction of Globalfoundries' new 12-inch plant in Chengdu, dubbed Fab 11, will be in two phases. Phase one of the plant will focus on the establishment of 12-inch wafer production lines for mainstream CMOS process technologies, with volume production scheduled for the end of 2018, the sources said.

 

       As for the second-phase construction, Globalfoundries will set up its 22nm FD-SOI manufacturing capability at the facility with volume production slated for the fourth quarter of 2019, the sources indicated.

 

       The Chengdu fab will initially offer mainstream process technologies including 0.18-, 0.13- and 0.11-micron, which will be transferred from Globalfoundries' 12-inch fab in Singapore, company CEO Sanjay Jha said in a recent interview with Digitimes. Globalfoundries' 22nm FD-SOI process technology will then be transferred to the fab, and the company is considering bringing 12nm FD-SOI manufacturing to the facility in the future, according to Jha.

 

       Globalfoundries in May 2017 disclosed the company will join forces with the Chengdu municipality to build a FD-SOI ecosystem locally with a total investment of more than US$100 million. Earlier in the year, Globalfoundries announced plans to build a new 12-inch wafer plant in Chengdu.

 

       In other news, Globalfoundries announced recently it had reached a five-year agreement with Soitec to ensure the volume supply of FD-SOI wafers. The agreement, which is effective immediately, builds on the existing close relationship between the companies and guarantees wafer supply for Globalfoundries' 22nm FD-SOI technology platform.