Rogue Valley set to receive CHIPS funding for 300mm MEMS fab

Business news | July 2, 2024

By Peter Clarke

Pure-play MEMS foundry Rogue Valley Microdevices Inc. (Medford, Oregon) is set to receive up to US$6.7 million in direct government funding for its next wafer fab under the CHIPS and Science Act.

RVM has signed a non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms with the US Department of Commerce to that effect supporting its second wafer fab, under construction in Palm Bay, Florida, which will be 300mm capable.

The company budgeted for a US$30 million capex to create a wafer fab for MEMS and sensors with a manufacturing capacity of 21,000 wafer starts per month. It is expected to employ about 75 people and begin production in 2025.

“The proposed investment in RVM is another example of how the Biden-Harris Administration is making targeted investments across the semiconductor supply chain to reignite US leadership in semiconductor manufacturing,” said US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, in a statement issued by RVM. “Because of President Biden’s CHIPS and Science Act, we are working to secure US-based companies a stable, domestic supply of MEMS technology when demand is increasing across the globe.”

Jessica Gomez, founder and CEO of RVM, said: “As the first MEMS foundry to secure proposed CHIPS and Science Act funding, Rogue Valley Microdevices is deeply committed to the onshore manufacturing of advanced microelectronics. We plan to use this capital infusion to increase production of the miniature, intelligent sensors that are critical to markets for which a robust supply chain is essential, including automotive, biomedical, and industrial. We’ll also ramp expansion from our west coast foundry in Oregon to our new location on the Space Coast of Florida, which will soon become the industry’s first MEMS pure-play foundry to offer 300mm capability.”