 Siemens Semiconductor Memorabilia Company: Siemens AG Based: Berlin, Germany Founded: 1847. Siemens Semiconductor group formed in 1988. (In 1999 Siemens Semiconductor became Infineon Technologies, & Siemens Nixdorf information systems became part of Fujitsu Siemens Computers AG) Founder: Werner von Siemens Specialty: Europe's largest industrial manufacturing company. Manufacture of semiconductors since the 1950's. |
Siemens NTS Semiconductor Wafer Fab (1990s)
|
Siemens NTS Semiconductor Fab DRAM Memory Chip (1998)
javascript:;
Siemens began doing research on semiconductors back in 1949, and by 1963 they were manufacturing Integrated Circuits.
This Lucite paperweight from Siemens Semiconductor contains a DRAM memory chip from their first 99% yielding finished silicon wafer manufactured at their new NTS wafer Fab.
Siemens NTS fab, located in North Tyneside, England, was started-up in May 1997 with ceremonial opening by the Queen of England.
The NGTS Fab originally built to be Siemens leading fab for manufacturing logic devices. But it shortly became another DRAM memory producing Fab in the highly competitive DRAM memory chip market.
Unfortunately, 1998 saw the biggest collapse in the DRAM market. The short-lived NTS Fab would be shut down by the end of 1998. Over 1100 Siemens workers would loose their jobs.
In 2000, Atmel tried to bring the fab back to life thru grants and promises of future investments in the Fab, but that never worked out - Atmel went thru a restructuring and announced they would instead focus their semiconductor manufacturing at foundry sites in China & Taiwan. Atmel would sell off the equipment inside the Fab to TSMC.
The NTS Fab, now an empty shell, would sit abandoned for the next 9 years. In January 2009, the former Siemens NTS Fab would be completely demolished.
This Lucite paperweight from Siemens Semiconductor contains a DRAM memory chip from their first 99% yielding finished silicon wafer manufactured at their new NTS wafer Fab.
Siemens NTS fab, located in North Tyneside, England, was started-up in May 1997 with ceremonial opening by the Queen of England.
The NGTS Fab originally built to be Siemens leading fab for manufacturing logic devices. But it shortly became another DRAM memory producing Fab in the highly competitive DRAM memory chip market.
Unfortunately, 1998 saw the biggest collapse in the DRAM market. The short-lived NTS Fab would be shut down by the end of 1998. Over 1100 Siemens workers would loose their jobs.
In 2000, Atmel tried to bring the fab back to life thru grants and promises of future investments in the Fab, but that never worked out - Atmel went thru a restructuring and announced they would instead focus their semiconductor manufacturing at foundry sites in China & Taiwan. Atmel would sell off the equipment inside the Fab to TSMC.
The NTS Fab, now an empty shell, would sit abandoned for the next 9 years. In January 2009, the former Siemens NTS Fab would be completely demolished.