Okmetic invests €40 million in MEMS wafer production
Okmetic, founded in 1985 is a maker of tailored silicon wafers in 100mm diameter to 200 mm diameter range including single- and double-sided polished wafers, silicon-on-insulator wafers for sensor and microfluidic applications and advanced wafers for silicon interposer and through-silicon-via applications.
The upgrade will enable the plant to manufacture so-called C-SOI wafers and other demanding wafers. C-SOI are bonded wafers with built in sealed cavities on the handle wafer or on the buried oxide that enable thin membranes for such applications as pressure sensors, silicon microphones and fluidic components.
The company was acquired by the Chinese in mid-2016 for about €160 million (see China moves in takeover of European wafer supplier).
The investment will pay for a new factory building that will focus on the production of processed C-SOI wafers with customer-specific cavities. These sensor wafers will enable the manufacture of advanced MEMS.
Construction work at the Vantaa plant will start in spring 2017. The plant expansion is expected to be completed by the end of 2018.
“This is a major commitment to create new capabilities both in products and production. As a result of the investment in technology, increasingly advanced wafers for various technological applications can be manufactured centrally. The investment will strengthen Okmetic’s standing as a leading wafer supplier for the sensor industry and reinforce our product supply chain,” says Okmetic’s President Kai Seikku.
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