Test line will point the way to success

A PILOT scale wafer test line, key to the semiconductor industry, is expected to go into operation this month.

It has measurement equipment for Micro Electro Mechanical System, 3D integration, MR magnetic sensing, power and biological, and other related processes.

This technology is called “More than Moore” (MtM) which is a development from the Moore’s Law (that the number of transistors on a chip doubles every 18 months to two years).

Moore’s Law only gives the technology idea in computer field, and the technology is dominated by US and Japanese firms with a high cost. So the new idea MtM was generated to deal with the technology in other electronic fields, such as the chips in the cell phones.

In May 2013, the Shanghai Industrial Technology Research Institute was established in Jiading to focus on the MtM sector. From 4 to 12-inch, the size of wafer in semiconductor industry has become larger in consideration of lowering the cost of a single chip despite a more complicated manufacturing process.

However, in the “More than Moore” sector, 6-inch is widely accepted while 8-inch leads the industry, according to You Jiajie, manager of the test line and vice president of operations at the institute.