Vishay Gets Funding for 300mm Wafer Production in Itzehoe

Vishay is moving ahead with the expansion of its chip fab in Itzehoe, Schleswig-Holstein. The funding for the project has now been formally handed over to the company. The money is meant to support the switch to 300mm wafers, the larger silicon discs on which the site's power MOSFETs will be manufactured in future.

What changes in Itzehoe

Power MOSFETs are switching transistors used to control and convert electrical energy. They are found in power supplies, industrial equipment and many other electronic systems. According to the announcement, these components will no longer be produced only on the existing wafer size but on the larger 300mm format at the northern German site.

Moving to bigger wafers is a major step for a fab. A larger disc offers more usable surface, so more chips can generally be processed in a single production run. It usually also requires new equipment and adapted processes, which is why the expansion of the plant goes hand in hand with the funding.

Why it matters

The project strengthens semiconductor manufacturing in Germany, a goal that politicians and industry have pursued for years in order to secure supply of key components. Power semiconductors are a central part of this effort, since demand for efficient energy conversion is rising across many applications.

For Itzehoe, the funding handover signals that Vishay intends to keep and develop the location as a production base for power chips. Further details, such as the funding amount, the investment volume or the schedule for the start of 300mm production, were not part of the information available at the time of writing.