Singapore invests $200m in semiconductor R&D

That is the opinion of Professor Dim-Lee Kwong, executive director of the Institute of Microelectronics (IME), who said: "These collaborations will encourage semiconductor R&D that is relevant for industry, and provide solutions for a rapidly evolving global electronics market." IME is a research institute within the Singapore government's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). The four labs, which will come at a cost of around S$200m (£95m), are a joint venture between IME and ten industry partners: Applied Materials, Dai Nippon Printing, DISCO, KLA-Tencor, Mentor Graphics, Nikon, Panasonic Factory Solutions Asia Pacific, PINK, Tokyo Electron Ltd. and Tokyo Ohka Kogyo. Professor Kwong continued: "Through this integrated platform, our partners can leverage A*STAR IME's technologies and expertise to develop innovative technologies and products to address challenges in the semiconductor industry." The four joint labs in lithography, wafer level packaging (WLP), metrology and assembly, will provide an integrated platform for semiconductor R&D, starting with patterning, further development of 3D Integrated Circuits (IC), quality control, and finally, the assembly and high-volume manufacturing of chips. Dr. Gishi Chung, senior vice president at Tokyo Electron, one of the industrial partners in the project, said: "It is increasingly important to make innovation by collaborating with consortia, academia and industry. Cost-effective technology, past and future industry demand, is always created by innovation. This collaborative platform with A*STAR IME will play a key role to make both innovation and the global ecosystem."