Soitec
| Soitec
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| legal form | Société Anonyme |
| ISIN | FR0013227113 |
| founding | 1992 |
| Seat |
Bernin , France
|
| management | André-Jacques Auberton Hervé |
| Number of employees | 1500 (end of March 2013) |
| sales | 262.9 million euros (2012-2013) |
| Branch | Electronics , solar energy |
| Website | www.soitec.com |
Soitec is an international industrial company with headquarters in France, which specializes in the development and manufacture of high-performance materials for the semiconductor industry. The company mainly operates in three markets: electronics , solar energy and lighting . Soitec is listed on the Paris Stock Exchange (Euronext Compartment B).
history
Soitec was founded in 1992 in France near Grenoble. The founders were two engineers of the CEA-Leti , an institute for microelectronics and nanotechnology , which was brought into being by the French commissioner for atomic energy and alternative energies.
The two engineers developed the Smart Cut , a technology Silicon-on-Insulator - wafer (SOI wafer) to manufacture on an industrial scale, and build the first production in Bernin Department of Isere in France.
Important data
Researchers at CEA-Leti in Grenoble founded Soitec in France in 1992. After signing the license agreement with Shin Etsu Handotai (SEH) for the use of Smart Cut ™ technology, the company began mass production in 1997. The first production facility was built two years later in Bernin (Bernin 1). In the same year Soitec left the company. A production facility for wafers with a diameter of 300 mm, Bernin 2, was opened in 2002. In 2003, materials other than SOI were explored for the first time , and Picogiga International, a company that specializes in III-V compound semiconductors , is taken over. Three years later, the company Tracit Technologies, which specializes in molecular adhesion and chemical thinning processes, was also taken over. This opened up new application possibilities for the smart cut technology. The production facility in Singapore opened in 2008. In 2012 the SOI recycling plant was also located in this plant. In 2013, production was stopped in order to prepare the plant for the new Fully-Depleted-Silicon-on-Insulator (FD-SOI) technology. With the takeover of Concentrix Solar, a provider of concentrator photovoltaic systems from Freiburg in Germany, the company entered the solar industry in 2009. The CPV marketing and the research and development department of the solar energy division are still located in Freiburg today. In 2011 Altatech Semiconductor, a company specializing in the development of machines for the manufacture of semiconductor materials, was acquired. The new production facility for CPV modules in San Diego, California, which is designed for a capacity of 280 MWp, but initially went into operation with a capacity of 140 MWp, was opened. A license agreement was signed with Sumitomo Electric in 2013 to develop gallium nitride wafers for LED lighting systems, and an agreement was signed with GT Advanced Technologies to develop and market machines for wafer production for the LED industry and other industrial applications. The company currently has manufacturing facilities in France and the US, and has research and development centers and offices in Europe (Germany, Italy), the US (Arizona, California, Massachusetts), Asia (China, Korea, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan) and Representing South Africa. In 2014, the foundry and license agreement was signed by Samsung and STMicroelectronics. This means that Samsung can now use FD-SOI technology to produce 28 nm Integrated Circuits. The FD-SOI technology is the result of the cooperation between Soitec, ST and CEA Leti. In addition: The first 50% of the solar power plant in Touwsrivier, South Africa was inaugurated, which will have a capacity of 44 MWp upon completion.
Fields of activity
Soitec is present in three markets: the electronics, solar energy and lighting industries.
Soitec originated in the marketing of silicon-on-insulator wafers for the production of electronic chips, which are used in computers, game consoles, servers and components for the automotive industry. With the boom in mobile devices (tablets, smartphones, etc.) in the entertainment electronics industry, Soitec has also developed new materials for high-frequency products, multimedia processes, etc.
In addition, Soitec is a manufacturer and supplier of concentrator photovoltaic systems (CPV systems). The main market for Soitec are large-scale systems in regions with high levels of direct sunlight. Soitec has installed CPV power plants and demo systems in 28 countries with a total capacity of 75 MWp worldwide, mainly in South Africa and the USA.
Soitec's LED division is vertically diversified. In the upstream value chain, the company uses its expertise in semiconductor materials to develop substrates made of gallium nitride for the production of LEDs. Soitec signed various license agreements for the technology. The license agreement with Sumitomo and GT Advanced Technologies should be mentioned here in particular. In the downstream value chain, Soitec works with various industrial partners to market new types of lighting systems for city lighting, office buildings and traffic routes.
Technologies
Soitec develops numerous technologies for different sectors and activities.
Smart Cut
Smart Cut is a technique developed at CEA-Leti and Soitec. The process uses both the implantation of light ions and wafer bonding through molecular adhesion to produce ultra-thin monocrystalline layers and transfer them from one substrate (wafer) to another. Soitec uses the technology, for example, for the production of SOI wafers on an industrial scale. Compared to conventional bulk silicon, SOI can reduce energy losses and improve the performance of components. However, SOI wafers are more expensive and are currently only used by a few manufacturers.
Smart stacking
Smart stacking is a method for transferring and stacking semiconductor layers from partially or fully processed wafers. The technology is suitable for wafer diameters from 150 mm to 300 mm and various materials such as silicon, glass and sapphire (see Silicon-on-Sapphire ). Smart Stacking is (for back-illuminated illuminated backside- , BSI) image sensors used and allows for improved light sensitivity and a higher image resolution. The technique is also used to improve the performance of high frequency components and opens up new possibilities for 3D integrations.
Epitaxy
Soitec has epitaxial expertise with III-V semiconductor materials in the following areas: molecular beam epitaxy , metal-organic gas-phase epitaxy and hybrid gas-phase epitaxy . The company produces gallium arsenide and gallium nitride wafers as the basis for the development and manufacture of compound semiconductor materials. These materials are used in Wi-Fi and high-frequency electronic components (mobile telecommunications, infrastructure networks, satellite communication, fiber optic networks and radar detection) as well as in energy management and optoelectronic components (e.g. LEDs).
Concentrator Photovoltaic (CPV)
The technology was originally developed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE) in Germany. It is based on a glass-glass module design in which a metal frame joins two glass plates. Optical lenses made of silicone , so-called Fresnel lenses , are embossed on the inside of the upper glass plate . The light that penetrates through the upper glass plate is concentrated by a factor of 500 by the Fresnel lenses. The concentrated light then hits multiple solar cells on the lower glass plate. The multi-junction solar cells convert the light into electrical energy. Soitec modules achieve an efficiency of 31.8%.
The company is also working on developing its own solar cell. Together with Fraunhofer ISE, CEA-Leti and the Helmholtz Center Berlin , Soitec announced a new world record for converting sunlight into electricity. A cell efficiency of 44.7% was achieved in the laboratory.
Soitec has also developed the Plug & Sun , which combines CPV technology with a mini-tracker. Plug & Sun is used for autonomous power supply and is used in remote areas with poor connections to the electricity network.
Corporate governance
Soitec's board of directors consists of eleven directors and one observer:
- André-Jacques Auberton-Hervé, chairman of the board, co-founder of Soitec and CEO
- Paul Boudre, Chief Operating Officer
- Fabienne Demol, director
- Douglas Dunn, director
- Fumisato Hirose, director
- Joël Karecki, director
- Didier Lamouche, director
- Christian Lucas, director
- Joseph Martin, director
- Patrick Murray, director
- Annick Pascal, director
- Sébastien Blot, observer
The board consists of five members:
- André-Jacques Auberton-Hervé, Chairman and CEO
- Paul Boudre, Chief Operating Officer
- Olivier Brice, Chief Financial Officer
- Corinne Margot, Executive Vice President, Human Resources and Corporate Communications
- Francis Taroni, Senior Vice President Industrial Operations
Financial metrics
- 2013–2014 annual turnover: 247.1 million euros
- 2013–2014 operating result: −137.3 million euros
- 2013-2014 gross profit: −55.7 million euros
Capital increases
Soitec has carried out three capital increases:
- The first capital increase took place in July 2011 to finance investments, specifically to develop the solar energy and LED business areas.
- The second capital increase took place in July 2013, which was intended to help refinance the convertible bonds and / or exchangeable bonds (“OCEANEs”) that expired in 2014 and to strengthen the company's financial structure. In addition, Soitec initiated a new bond issue in September 2013.
- The third capital increase in June 2014 to strengthen Soitec's financial profile and liquidity position and to support FD-SOI substrate production on an industrial scale.
Awards
Hansjörg Lerchenmüller from Soitec and Andreas Bett from Fraunhofer ISE received the German Environment Prize in September 2012 for their achievements in connection with CPV technology.
Web links
- Official website of Soitec
- Official CEA-Leti website
- Official website of the SOI Industry Consortium
- Advanced Substrate News website
Individual evidence
- ↑ "Des ions et des hommes" (Ions and humans) , Leti website, March 29, 2013 [archive]
- ↑ Patent US5374564 : Process for the production of thin semiconductor material films. Published on December 20, 1994 , inventor: Michel Bruel.
- ↑ "Une cellule solaire conçue avec Soitec établit un 'record mondial' d'efficacité" (A solar cell designed with Soitec achieves a “world record” for efficiency) Les Echos September 24, 2010
- ↑ Soitec Annual Report 2012–2013 ( Memento of the original dated January 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ DBU press release
