Infineon Technologies announced it is investing $152 million to expand its memory development center at its Dresden's fab in Germany.

The move aims to extend the plant's central role in the development of DRAM and flash products at 300mm and will see the erection of a new building at Dresden with a development cleanroom at its center.

"By expanding the development center we are taking another step forward and creating the space we need to develop the next-but-one technology generations at 70 nanometers and below, which will enable us to secure our leading competitive position in this sector," Harald Eggers, senior VP and general manager of Infineon's memory products group, said in a statement. 

Infineon currently expects to take on about 120 new hires for expansion in the current fiscal year and said the total investment would be spread over the next two years.

Construction is scheduled to start in the middle of this year and be completed by 2005. When completed, the new complex will provide around 2,300 m2 of additional cleanroom space, Infineon said