Recruiting in China

Claire Sung, Taipei; Rodney Chan, DigiTimes.com [Friday 22 September 2006]

China's foundries are offering more multi-project wafer (MPW) programs to lower costs for the country's more than 400 IC designers, most of whom are small players.

CMMC Technologies, which currently offer MPW services at the 0.5 and 0.6 micron processes, have announced that it will add the 0.35 micron process to its MPW programs.

Shanghai Hua Hong NEC Electronics will also offer MPW services for the 0.15 and 0.18 micron processes, according to industry sources. Hua Hong NEC is already planning a MPW program for the 0.18 process, while its 0.15 micron MPW service is expected to be launched in 2007, the sources added.

Other China-based foundries, such as Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), Hejian Technology, also offer MPW services, the sources noted.

The sources pointed out that MPW programs enable multiple low-volume clients to put their designs onto a single wafer, cutting the clients' costs by as much as two thirds compared to a single client occupying the entire wafer.

According to sources with China's IC design sector, there are over 400 IC designers in China, most of whom are small players who use the mature 0.35-0.18 micron processes. Consumer electronics are their chief markets, the sources added