KUCHING, Malaysia--Foundry startup 1st Silicon (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. here is preparing to launch a 0.18-micron process technology close on the heels of its 0.25-micron production ramp, said company officials during a dedication ceremony for a new 200-mm wafer fab today (Feb. 23).

The fab is now ramping production to volume levels using a 0.25-micron CMOS technology, which is licensed from Sharp Corp. of Japan. The company is one of two Malaysian startups aiming to establish a foothold in the competitive foundry business using initial quarter-micron process technologies.

Last week, Silterra Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. announced delivery of 0.22-micron CMOS wafers with customer designs after starting quarter-micron production in its 200-mm (8-inch) wafer fab on the Malay peninsula in the city of Kulim (see Feb. 14 story).

In Malaysia's State of Sarawak, on the island of Borneo, 1st Silicon officially formally dedicated the company's 200-mm plant after starting engineering wafer runs late last year. Officials said the dedication of the facility marks a significant chapter for Malaysia 's 35-year-old semiconductor industry, which has mostly been dedicated to backend chip assembly and packaging operations since the 1970s.

In the summer of 1998, local officials resurrected efforts to build a semiconductor-processing plant in Kuching after the failure of a previous venture, called Interconnect Technology. With new investors, new management and renewed government support, 1st Silicon started up and struck a technology partnership with Sharp (see July 20, 1998, story). Sharp has become 1st Silicon's biggest customer of foundry services to date.

The opening of 1st Silicon finally puts the failure of Interconnect Technology to rest. "I have been dragging the ghost of the former company around from day one," said the chief executive officer of 1st Silicon in an interview last year. "We have had the worst hurdles to jump," said Claudio G. Loddo, who took over as CEO of 1st Silicon in 1998. But all that is now history. What's challenging 1st Silicon today are troubled market conditions as the silicon foundry industry struggles with a major slowdown at the time of the company's fab ramp.

Consequentially, 1st Silicon is planning to quickly move to its next-generation 0.18-micron technology after ramping initial digital and mixed-signal ICs with its current 0.25-micron CMOS.