Aixtron starts construction of new innovation centre
Aixtron has officially started the construction of a new innovation centre at its headquarters in Herzogenrath, Germany. The company is investing approximately EUR 100 million in 1.000 square metres of clean room with additional space for the required metrology equipment.
The first systems are scheduled to move into the new building during the second half of 2024 and the official handover of the facility is planned for early 2025.
"We have just completely renewed our portfolio with our successful G10 product family. The demand from our customers is already very high, so we are in the middle of a volume ramp. And we are now also starting to work on the next generation of innovative technical solutions. With this, we will successfully drive forward the electrification of the world with the megatrends of digitalization, electromobility, and energy efficiency. The new innovation centre provides us with essential capacities for all of this," says Dr. Felix Grawert, CEO of Aixtron.
The clean room area of the innovation centre will be of class ISO 6, expandable up to ISO 4. The company says that the new fab will be one of the most compact and complex semiconductor fabs in the world – boasting two sub-levels. The first sub-level accommodates, for example, the pump filter cabinets of the systems while the facility level houses all supporting processes and systems for the entire infrastructure.
This type of space utilisation increases cleanroom efficiency by a factor of up to three compared to the previously used cleanroom areas.