Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing
Encyclopedia
Prior to 2010, Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing (abbreviated CSM) was the world's third largest dedicated independent semiconductor
foundry
, with its headquarters and main operations located in the Woodlands Industrial Park, Kranji
Singapore
. The company was listed on the Singapore Exchange
under the trading symbol of CHARTERED, as well as on NASDAQ
(CHRT), until its buyout.
Chartered provides comprehensive wafer fabrication
services and technologies to semiconductor suppliers and systems companies. Chartered's customer base is primarily high-growth, technologically advanced companies operating in the communication, computer and consumer sectors. It does not provide design services and works from customers' designs to produce communications chips.
Besides its own fabs, Chartered operates joint venture facilities with other firms, it offers chip assembly and test services through sister firm STATS ChipPAC. Chartered owns 6 fabrication facilities, all of which are located in Singapore, including the newest, Chartered's first 300-mm facility which started commercial shipment in June 2005.
The other major semiconductor foundries include TSMC
and UMC
, Taiwanese-based companies, which are primarily Chartered's main competitors.
In 2006 AMD announced that it will manufacture CPUs
with Chartered on a 65 nanometer process. It also has alliances with IBM
, Infineon, Samsung
and Agere Systems
.
Chartered Semiconductor was created in 1987 as a venture that included Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd. Yet, it was not until 2000 that ST Engineering (Singapore Technologies Semiconductors), a wholly owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings wholly acquired Chartered.
In September 2009, it was announced that Chartered Semiconductor was about to be acquired by the main stockholder of GlobalFoundries
, a joint venture between AMD and Advanced Technology Investment Company(ATIC), of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. By acquiring Chartered, ATIC is expanding its investments and expertise in technology in the semiconductor industry which currently consist of a GLOBALFOUNDRIES facility in Dresden, Germany. This further step in the history of Chartered may bring hope for the company itself to move forward to be the 2nd largest in the world. The transaction was completed at the end of 2009, making ATIC the sole owner of Chartered.
Semiconductor
A semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity due to electron flow intermediate in magnitude between that of a conductor and an insulator. This means a conductivity roughly in the range of 103 to 10−8 siemens per centimeter...
foundry
Foundry (electronics)
In the microelectronics industry a semiconductor fabrication plant is a factory where devices such as integrated circuits are manufactured....
, with its headquarters and main operations located in the Woodlands Industrial Park, Kranji
Kranji
Kranji is a suburb in northwestern Singapore, located about from the city centre.-Etymology:Kranji is named after a local tree, the kranji or keranji . Its abundance has rapidly dwindled since the first half of the nineteenth century.-History:The first Singapore-Kranji railway from Tank Road to...
Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. The company was listed on the Singapore Exchange
Singapore Exchange
Singapore Exchange Limited is an investment holding company located in Singapore and providing different services related to securities and derivatives trading and others. SGX is a member of the World Federation of Exchanges and the Asian and Oceanian Stock Exchanges FederationSingapore Exchange...
under the trading symbol of CHARTERED, as well as on NASDAQ
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
(CHRT), until its buyout.
Chartered provides comprehensive wafer fabrication
Wafer fabrication
Wafer fabrication is a procedure composed of many repeated sequential processes to produce complete electrical or photonic circuits. Examples include production of radio frequency amplifiers, LEDs, optical computer components, and CPUs for computers...
services and technologies to semiconductor suppliers and systems companies. Chartered's customer base is primarily high-growth, technologically advanced companies operating in the communication, computer and consumer sectors. It does not provide design services and works from customers' designs to produce communications chips.
Besides its own fabs, Chartered operates joint venture facilities with other firms, it offers chip assembly and test services through sister firm STATS ChipPAC. Chartered owns 6 fabrication facilities, all of which are located in Singapore, including the newest, Chartered's first 300-mm facility which started commercial shipment in June 2005.
The other major semiconductor foundries include TSMC
TSMC
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Limited or TSMC is the world's largest dedicated independent semiconductor foundry, with its headquarters and main operations located in the Hsinchu Science Park in Hsinchu, Taiwan.-Overview:...
and UMC
United Microelectronics Corporation
UMC was founded as Taiwan's first semiconductor company in 1980 as a spin-off of the government-sponsored Industrial Technology Research Institute .-Overview:...
, Taiwanese-based companies, which are primarily Chartered's main competitors.
In 2006 AMD announced that it will manufacture CPUs
Central processing unit
The central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in...
with Chartered on a 65 nanometer process. It also has alliances with IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
, Infineon, Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
and Agere Systems
Agere Systems
Agere Systems Inc. was an integrated circuit components company based in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Spun out of Lucent Technologies in 2002, Agere was merged into LSI Corporation in 2007....
.
Chartered Semiconductor was created in 1987 as a venture that included Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd. Yet, it was not until 2000 that ST Engineering (Singapore Technologies Semiconductors), a wholly owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings wholly acquired Chartered.
In September 2009, it was announced that Chartered Semiconductor was about to be acquired by the main stockholder of GlobalFoundries
GLOBALFOUNDRIES
GlobalFoundries Inc. is the world's third largest independent semiconductor foundry, with its headquarters located in Milpitas, California. GlobalFoundries was created by the divestiture of the manufacturing side of AMD on March 2, 2009, and was expanded through its merger with Chartered...
, a joint venture between AMD and Advanced Technology Investment Company(ATIC), of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. By acquiring Chartered, ATIC is expanding its investments and expertise in technology in the semiconductor industry which currently consist of a GLOBALFOUNDRIES facility in Dresden, Germany. This further step in the history of Chartered may bring hope for the company itself to move forward to be the 2nd largest in the world. The transaction was completed at the end of 2009, making ATIC the sole owner of Chartered.