Soitec

Soitec is a French multinational corporation that manufactures substrates used in the manufacturing of semiconductors.

Soitec's semiconductor materials are used to manufacture chips which are used in smartphones, tablets, computers, IT servers, and data centres. Soitec's products are also found in electronic components used in cars, connected objects (Internet of Things), as well as industrial and medical equipment.

Soitec's flagship product is silicon on insulator (SOI). Materials produced by Soitec come in the form of substrates (also called "wafers"). These are produced as ultra-thin disks that are 200 to 300 mm in diameter and are less than 1 mm thick. These wafers are then etched and cut to be used for microchips in electronics.

History

Soitec was founded in 1992[1] near Grenoble in France by two researchers from CEA Leti, an institute for micro- and nanotechnologies research created by the French Commission for Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies (CEA). The pair developed Smart Cut™ technology to industrialize Silicon-On-Insulator

Key dates

1963: SOS is invented at North American Aviation.

1965: The first MEMS device is invented at Westinghouse.

1978: Hewlett-Packard develops SPER.

1979: NOSC starts researching thin-film SOS.

1988: NOSC publishes their SOS findings.

1989: IBM starts researching SOI.

1990: Peregrine Semiconductor is founded.

1991: Peregrine Semiconductor launches the commercialization of SOS (UltraCMOS).

1992: Creation of Soitec by researchers from CEA Leti in Grenoble, France.

1995: Peregrine Semiconductor delivers its first product.

1995: IBM commercializes SOI.

1997: CEA-Leti spins off Tronics Microsystems to commercialize SOI MEMS.

1997: Soitec shifts to mass production after the signature of a Smart Cut™ technology licensing agreement with Shin Etsu Handotai (SEH).

1999: Construction of Soitec's first production site in Bernin (Bernin 1), and launch of Soitec's initial public offering.

2001: IBM unveils RF-SOI technology

2001: CEA-Leti and Motorola start collaborating on the development of high aspect ratio SOI MEMS.

2002: OKI ships the first commercial FD-SOI LSI.

2002: Inauguration of Bernin 2, a Soitec manufacturing unit dedicated to 300-mm diameter wafers.

2003: Soitec acquires Picogiga International, a company specializing in technologies for III-V composite materials, and the first foray into materials other than SOI.

2005: Freescale introduces HARMEMS.

2006: Soitec acquires Tracit Technologies, a company specializing in molecular adhesion and mechanical and chemical thinning processes, enabling diversification into new applications for Smart Cut™ technology.

2008: Soitec opens a production unit in Asia, in Singapore. In 2012, this unit housed the SOI wafer recycling business. In 2013, production stopped at the unit to prepare for the company's new Fully Depleted Silicon on Insulator (FD-SOI) technology.

2009: Soitec acquires Concentrix Solar, a German supplier of concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) systems, Soitec thus entering the solar energy market.

2011: Soitec acquires Altatech Semiconductor, a company specialized in developing equipment for producing semiconductors.

2012: Soitec opens a production unit for CPV modules in San Diego, California, with a capacity of 140 MW, upgradeable to 280 MW.

2012: GlobalFoundries and STMicroelectronics sign a sourcing agreement for 28 nm and 20 nm FD-SOI devices. GlobalFoundries agreed to manufacture wafers for STMicroelectronics using the latter's CMOS28FDSOI. The FD-SOI technology originates from the cooperation between Soitec, ST and CEA Leti.

2013: Soitec signs a Smart Cut™ licensing agreement with Sumitomo Electric to develop the gallium nitride (GaN) wafer market for LED lighting applications. Signature of another agreement, with GT Advanced Technologies, to develop and commercialize equipment for producing wafers for manufacturing LEDs and other industrial applications.

2014: Samsung and STMicroelectronics sign a foundry and license agreement. It enables Samsung to use the FD-SOI technology to produce 28 nm integrated circuits. Soitec solar energy division also inaugurates the first 50% of South African Touwsrivier solar plant, which will have a final total capacity of 44 MWp. The plant was never completed.

2015: Samsung qualifies their 28FDS process.

2015: After the stoppage of some important solar projects in the United States, Soitec announces a strategic shift toward its electronics business and a plan to leave the solar energy business.[2]

2015: Peregrine Semiconductor and GlobalFoundries announce in July the first 300mm RF-SOI platform (130 nm).

2015: GlobalFoundries announces in July the implementation of a technological platform for producing 22-nm FD-SOI chips (22FDX).

2015: Soitec and Simgui announce the first Chinese production of 200mm SOI wafers.

2015: CEA Leti demos MEMS on 300mm SOI wafers.

2016: Soitec starts volume manufacturing of 300mm RF-SOI wafers.

2017: GlobalFoundries announces 45RFSOI.

2017: Samsung announces 18FDS.

2017: IBM and GlobalFoundries announce a custom FinFET-on-SOI process (14HP).

2017: Soitec signs a five-year agreement to supply GlobalFoundries with FD-SOI wafers.

2018: STMicroelectronics adopts GlobalFoundries' 22FDX.

2018: Soitec and MBDA acquire the Dolphin Integration assets.

2019: Soitec signs a high-volume agreement to supply Samsung with FD-SOI wafers.

2019: Soitec acquires EpiGaN

2019: Soitec signs high-volume agreements to supply GlobalFoundries with SOI wafers.

2020: GlobalFoundries announces the 22FDX+ platform.

2020: Soitec signs a multi-year agreement to supply GlobalFoundries with 300mm RF-SOI wafers.

2022: start of building of the Bernin 4 facility for SiC wafers,[3] intended to start production in 2024.

type	Société Anonyme – SA (French publicly-traded limited company)
traded as	euronextparis: SOI FR0013227113 CAC Mid 60 component
foundation	1992
founder	André-Jacques Auberton-Hervé & Jean-Michel Lamure
location country	Bernin (Isère), France
key people	Laurent Rémont (CEO and chairman)
owner	Free-float (61.03%) BPI France (10.35%) NSIG Sunrise SARL (10.35%) Blackrock (8.91%) CEA Investment (7.31%) Employees (1.41%) Shin-Etsu Handotai Co., Ltd. (0.63%) Treasury Shares (0.01%)
products	Innovative semiconductor materials dedicated to three key markets: mobile communications, automotive and smart objects
revenue	€1.09 billion (2022–2023)
net income	€233 million (2022–2023)
num employees	2,044
homepage	soitec.com

History

Key dates

Operations

Technologies

Smart Cut™

Smart Stacking™

Epitaxy

Capital increases

External links

References