Samsung Electronics is expected to invest more than $40bn in support of the US semiconductor supply chain, and the Biden-Harris Administration has today (15th April) announced up to $6.4bn in direct funding for the firm under the CHIPS and Science Act.
The agreement has been solidified with a signed non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms (PMT) between the US Department of Commerce and Samsung.
Specifically, the investment will boost the company’s projects in Taylor and Austin.
In Taylor, Samsung will develop a manufacturing network focused on semiconductor production. The network will be comprised of factories for producing 4nm and 2nm semiconductors, a research facility, and a packaging facility producing 3D high bandwidth memory and 2.5D packaging.
Samsung’s work in Austin will expand an existing facility that has been in operation for almost 30 years. The investment will support the production of leading fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FD-SOI) process technologies for critical US industries, including aerospace, defence, and automotive.
Kye Hyun Kyung, President and CEO of the Device Solutions (DS) Division at Samsung Electronics, said, “We’re not just expanding production facilities; we’re strengthening the local semiconductor ecosystem and positioning the US as a global semiconductor manufacturing destination.”
“To meet the expected surge in demand from US customers, for future products like AI chips, our fabs will be equipped for cutting-edge process technologies and help advance the security of the US semiconductor supply chain.”
Investments such as Samsung’s mean that the US is projected to be on track to produce around 0% of the world’s leading-edge logic chips by 2030. This aligns with President Joe Biden’s goal to place the US as a forerunner in the semiconductor market and revitalise domestic manufacturing.
Read more: President Biden signs $52bn CHIPS Act into law
President Biden expands, “I signed the CHIPS and Science Act to restore U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing and ensure America’s consumers, businesses, and military maintain access to the chips that underpin our modern technology.”
“This announcement will unleash over $40bn in investment from Samsung, and cement central Texas’s role as a state-of-the-art semiconductor ecosystem, creating at least 21,500 jobs and leveraging up to $40m in CHIPS funding to train and develop the local workforce.”
The CHIPS and Science Act marked a new era of semiconductor manufacturing in the US, bringing with it a revitalised domestic supply chain, good-paying jobs, and investments in the industries of the future.
Focusing on the Samsung news, the CHIPS investment would propel Central Texas into a state-of-the-art, leading-edge ecosystem, creating over 17,000 construction jobs and more than 4,500 good-paying manufacturing jobs within the next five years while stimulating regional commercial growth.
To support young personnel aspiring to support the semiconductor market, Samsung has forged robust partnerships with local education institutions — such as Austin Community College, The University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University, Texas State Technical College, Temple College, Manor High School, and Taylor High School — to train its future semiconductor workforce.
Additionally, to attract and maintain the skilled workforce necessary for its projects, Samsung is exploring options in collaboration with the Department to build supply and defray the cost of high-quality and accessible childcare for its employees.
US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo concluded, “Thanks to President Biden’s CHIPS Act, Samsung is expected to invest more than $40bn to build a cluster of semiconductor factories here in the US that will employ thousands of workers in good-paying jobs, support a robust supplier ecosystem, and fuel innovation through R&D.”
“Proposed CHIPS investments like the ones we are announcing today will be a catalyst for continued private sector investments to help secure the long-term stability we need to put America at the beginning of our semiconductor supply chain and to safeguard a strong, resilient ecosystem here at home.”
The role of specialty gases in semiconductor manufacturing
Specialty gases are often thought of as the lifeblood of the electronics industry and the beating heart of semiconductor manufacturing. These gases, including those used in creating silicon for chips, are directly linked to the advancement of current technology. Remarkably, a single wafer – a thin slice of semiconductor material crucial for integrated circuits – can comprise up to one thousand chips.
Semiconductor manufacture may use up to 30 different gases in all the various processes, including gases such as helium, nitrogen, and argon, which are used to create an inert atmosphere, flush chambers at the end of a process, or before cleaning.
Other specialty gases such as hydrogen, ammonia, and chlorine, in addition to less common examples like hexafluoroethane, octafluorocyclobutane and germane, are used in the etching and deposition processes.
Read more: In focus… Semiconductors
European Specialty Gas Summit
Join gasworld this June for its first-ever European Specialty Gases Summit, devoted to addressing all of the key trends in specialty gas markets, unearthing the answers to those questions, and bringing together the analysts, end-users, and specialty gas producers and innovators that will realise this bright new future in industry and digital.
This is a dynamic 2.5-day event to reflect the fast-paced marketplace for electronics and specialty gases in Europe – and the array of questions still waiting to be asked.
With informed speakers and live, unscripted panel debates covering these splinter topics, be sure to stake your place at gasworld’s European Specialty Gases Summit to stay at the forefront of the region’s hot topic value chain.
To attend, sponsor and for more information, visit https://bit.ly/GWSPECGAS-S24
