Motorola will run first wafers in China fab next week, say sources

BEIJING -- Next week, Motorola Inc. is expected to process its first wafers at the company's new MOS17 fab in Tianjin, China, according to industry sources.

The MOS17 fab was officially announced last summer after years of planning. The 200-mm wafer facility is part of a planned $1.9 billion manufacturing complex that will include a wafer fab and a systems assembly plant for wireless telecommunication products (see Aug. 21 story).

In preparation for the ramp of production in MOS17 later this year, initial engineering wafers are expected to be processed by the fab, beginning next week, according to sources at the Semicon China 2001 trade show in Beijing today (March 28). The 8-inch (200-mm) wafer fab is being equipped for 0.35- and--eventually--0.25-micron process technologies, which will be used to fabricate ICs for cellular phones and other high-volume products in China. The MOS17 plant is expected to move into production later this year.

During the opening day of Semicon China, representatives from Motorola declined to provide specific details about the current status of the plant. "Production will begin sometime in the next couple of months," hinted Ross Dewhurst, human resources manager at the company's Tianjin-based operation.

Motorola originally announced plans for the Tianjin plant in the early 1990s, but the U.S-based company delayed the fab for a variety of reasons until last year.