BERNIN, France -- Silicon-On-Insulator Technologies (SOITEC) expects to complete construction of its second SOI wafer factory here next summer, eventually giving it additional capacity to produce up to 1.2 million eight-inch (200-mm) equivalent substrates per year.
Nine-year-old SOITEC also expects to have its existing plant operating at full capacity by March 2002, with the ability to produce up to 800,000 wafers a year. The new SOI plant will be larger than the first facility, with about 25,000 square feet of space. The Bernin 2 facility will house a Class 1 cleanroom for production of 200- and 300-mm SOI wafers using SOITEC's Smart Cut process.
SOITEC officials believe the company became the first industry's silicon-on-insulator substrate supplier to record a full-year profit when it recently posted a net income of 4.1 million euros ($3.4 million) on revenues of 43.3 million euros ($36.4 million) for the fiscal year, ended March 31. In fiscal 2000, SOITEC had a net loss of $7.9 million euros ($6.6 million) on revenues of 16.3 million euros ($13.7 million).
"We are well positioned to respond to the continued steady demand coming from high-end semiconductor products--demand that remains solid even in the current semiconductor climate--and we anticipate maintaining a strong growth rate over the coming years," said André Auberton-Hervé, president of SOITEC. "For the coming fiscal year, our objectivesare to sustain our sales growth, continue to grow profitability and maintain a positive cash flow," he said in a statement issued with the fiscal 2001 results.
Last week, SOITEC announced it was strengthening its technical development organization with the appointment of Carlos Mazure, formerly of Infineon Technologies AG, as its chief technical officer. In the newly created CTO position, Mazure will concentrate on identifying new applications and business directions for SOITEC. He will also work closely with the company's partners and customers in creating new applications for Smart Cut processes, such as silicon-on-quartz wafers.
Before joining the wafer substrate supplier, Mazure was director of business development at
Infineon Technologies. Previously, Mazure was with the IBM/Siemens DRAM Development Alliance, and he had worked on SOI devices and technology development at Motorola Inc.
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