Black Semiconductor chooses Critical Manufacturing for 300mm Fab
Black Semiconductor GmbH has selected Critical Manufacturing to provide the Manufacturing Execution System (MES) and automation infrastructure for its new 300mm wafer facility, FabONE, in Aachen.
The facility is intended to scale the company’s graphene-based chip interconnect technology into a mass-production environment, marking one of Europe’s most ambitious semiconductor projects.
FabONE is a greenfield site designed as a fully automated frontend fab. Critical Manufacturing was chosen following a competitive Request for Proposal (RfP), with the decision driven by the company’s experience in automating advanced semiconductor manufacturing environments.
“FabONE represents a significant step for our technology enablement and for the European semiconductor ecosystem,” said Samivel Krishnamoorthy, Senior Director of Fab Automation & Integration at Black Semiconductor, in a press release. “ “We knew that we needed a Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM) partner with deep experience in fully automated frontend environments. A partner that is prepared and willing to move at the fast pace of our project. Critical Manufacturing stood out for its completeness of MOM capabilities as a platform beyond just the traditional Manufacturing Execution System (MES), which we seek for the start-up nature of Black Semiconductor.”
The partnership will see Critical Manufacturing implement its full suite of MES modules, native Equipment Integration through its Connect IoT modules, integration with Black Semiconductor’s Automated Material Handling System (AMHS) and ERP, and an AI-enabled data platform for analytics and decision-making. Once operational, FabONE is expected to run with minimal operator intervention, enabling the company to validate process stability and advance toward volume production.
“This project is important not only because of its scale, but because of what Black Semiconductor is trying to unlock,” said Tom Bednarz, Managing Director at Critical Manufacturing, Germany. “Graphene-based chip interconnects represent a bold step for the industry and turning that vision into a production-capable reality requires an MES that can keep pace with constant innovation. We are proud to support Black Semiconductor as they build a fab that is both highly automated and highly adaptable. It is precisely the kind of challenge our MES was designed for.”
The FabONE project reinforces Critical Manufacturing’s role in enabling modern, data-driven semiconductor manufacturing in Europe. It also positions both companies to scale together as FabONE evolves from a pilot line into a cornerstone of next-generation semiconductor manufacturing.
