Under a Biden Administration initiative to boost domestic microchip manufacturing, the U.S. Department of Commerce has signed plans to provide up to $400 million in proposed direct funding for GlobalWafers Co. Ltd., a Taiwanese tech firm with operations in Texas and Missouri.
The funding under the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act is intended to help onshore semiconductor wafer production and advance U.S. technology leadership. That approach will “usher in a new era of semiconductor manufacturing in the United States, bringing with it a revitalized domestic supply chain, good-paying jobs, and investments in the industries of the future,” the White House said in a July 17 announcement.
The proposed CHIPS investment would support the construction of new wafer manufacturing facilities and the creation of 1,700 construction jobs and 880 manufacturing jobs. This proposed investment will support projects with total capital expenditures of approximately $4 billion across both states.
Specifically, silicon wafers are critical components in the semiconductor ecosystem as they are a foundational input used in all chips. According to the Department of Commerce, just five companies, including GlobalWafers, currently hold over 80% of the global 300mm silicon wafer manufacturing market, and approximately 90% of silicon wafers are sourced from East Asia.
But as a result of this proposed CHIPS investment, GlobalWafers would build and expand its facilities in:
- Sherman, Texas: Establish the first 300mm silicon wafer manufacturing facility for advanced chips in the United States. Of note, 300mm silicon wafers are a key input used by foundries and integrated device manufacturers to manufacture leading-edge, mature-node, and memory chips.
- St. Peters, Missouri: Establish a new facility to produce 300mm silicon-on-insulator (“SOI”) wafers. Importantly, SOI wafers allow for significantly improved performance in harsh environments and are commonly used in defense and aerospace end uses.
Further, as part of the PMT, GlobalWafers plans to convert a portion of its existing silicon epitaxy wafer manufacturing facility in Sherman, Texas to silicon carbide (“SiC”) epitaxy wafer manufacturing, producing 150mm and 200mm SiC epitaxy wafers. SiC epitaxy wafers are a critical component for high-voltage applications, notably including electric vehicles and clean energy infrastructure.
“With this proposed investment, GlobalWafers will play a crucial role in bolstering America’s semiconductor supply chain by providing a domestic source of silicon wafers that are the backbone of advanced chips,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said in a release. “As a result of this proposed investment, the Biden-Harris Administration is helping to secure our supply chains, which will create over 2,000 jobs across Texas and Missouri and ultimately lowering costs and improving economic and national security for Americans.”
