The Biden administration plans to award Taiwan-based silicon wafer manufacturer GlobalWafers Co. $400 million in proposed funding under the CHIPS and Science Act, the Commerce Department announced Wednesday.

The proposed investment will support the construction of new manufacturing facilities in Sherman, Texas, and St. Peters, Missouri, creating over 880 manufacturing jobs.

Silicon wafers are a foundational input used in all chips. Only five leading companies, including GlobalWafers, currently make up over 80% of the global 300mm silicon wafer manufacturing market used in leading-edge, mature-node and memory chips, according to the release.

The Sherman facility will be the first 300mm silicon wafer manufacturing plant in the U.S., according to the Commerce Department.

GlobalWafers will also convert part of its Sherman facility to produce silicon carbide epitaxy wafers for high-voltage applications like electric vehicles and clean energy infrastructure.

Texas is already home to semiconductor plants including Texas Instruments, Siemens and Samsung Electronics, the latter of which received $6.4 billion in CHIPS funding for its fabrication plants in Taylor and Austin.

The St. Peters facility, which will be operated by GlobalWafers’ subsidiary MEMC, will produce 300mm silicon-on-insulator wafers, which have improved performance suitable for harsh environments like defense and aerospace industries.

For the facilities’ workforce, GlobalWafers will partner with local schools and universities in Texas and Missouri to provide training and certification programs for the semiconductor industry.

At the Missouri facility, MEMC is developing an apprenticeship program for maintenance technicians with the National Institute for Industry and Career Advancement and local high schools and community colleges.

GlobalWafers also plans to apply for the Treasury Department’s Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit of up to 25% of qualified expenditures at both facilities, according to a company press release.

The CHIPS funding aims to onshore semiconductor wafer production and advance U.S. technology leadership as approximately 90% of silicon wafers are produced in East Asia, the Commerce Dept. release stated.

The investment marks the 13th CHIPS funding effort from the Commerce Department since December, when the government started rolling out awards. In the latest funding this summer, Rogue Valley Microdevices received $6.7 million for its Palm Bay, Florida, pure-play microelectromechanical systems and sensor foundry.

On June 27, Entegris was granted $75 million for its Colorado Springs, Colorado, plant. The facility will produce highly specialized containers for securing semiconductor wafers starting next year.

By: DocMemory
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