Toppan Photomasks, GLOBALFOUNDRIES form JV at Dresden Advanced Mask Technology Center

ROUND ROCK & SUNNYVALE, USA: Toppan Photomasks Inc. (TPI) and GLOBALFOUNDRIES have formed a joint venture for operation of the Advanced Mask Technology Center (AMTC) in Dresden, Germany. The joint venture will provide leading-edge photomasks to GLOBALFOUNDRIES and to TPI’s European and global networks of customers.

Under terms of the venture, TPI’s Dresden manufacturing facility and the AMTC will be combined into a single manufacturing facility. TPI will retain its Dresden sales, customer service and mask front-end functions.

The new integrated organization builds on the AMTC’s history of providing advanced masks, TPI’s and GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ manufacturing excellence in Dresden, Toppan’s world-class mask technology development, and the extensive collaborative relationships that GLOBALFOUNDRIES and Toppan have established in the industry.

GLOBALFOUNDRIES was launched in 2009 as a leading-edge provider of advanced foundry technology and manufacturing services and has recently integrated operations with Chartered Semiconductor. The company is the leader in time-to-volume for advanced technologies with the fastest and most aggressive ramp of 45nm production in the foundry industry.

The AMTC has continuously provided GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ Dresden operations with high-end mask capabilities and world-class cycle times in support of the company’s ambitious technology roadmap. Under the new arrangement, the AMTC will be available as a mask supplier for all of GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ manufacturing operations in Germany, Singapore and the USA.

“This joint venture builds on the rich heritage of partnership and success between our companies going back to 1994,” said Jim Doran, senior vice president of GLOBALFOUNDRIES’ 300 mm Business Unit. “As a leading-edge foundry targeting the world’s largest fabless design companies, mask manufacturing is critical to our success, and partnering with Toppan will increase our capability to produce next-generation photomasks for our rapidly growing global customer base.”

“The AMTC will continue to provide world-class photomasks and service for our European and global network of customers,” said David Murray, CEO of Toppan Photomasks. “This joint venture also assures the stability of supply-chain infrastructure in Dresden and establishes a new AMTC business model through our companies’ cooperation on mask development and production.”

Thomas Schmidt, the new managing director of the AMTC, brings 14 years of semiconductor experience in the fields of manufacturing, development and customer support. Previously he was responsible for integration and engineering. Prior to joining the AMTC he worked as module-operation manager at AMD’s Fab 36.

The AMTC was founded in 2002 by AMD, Infineon Technologies and DuPont Photomasks, which became Toppan Photomasks in 2005. The transaction will become effective upon the approval of regulatory authorities and banks.