Infineon Technology AG and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), Shanghai, China, announced that they have signed an agreement to expand their cooperation on the production of DRAM chips. Under the terms of the additional agreement, Infineon will transfer its 0.11 micron DRAM trench technology and 300mm production know-how to SMIC. In return, SMIC will manufacture products in this technology exclusively for Infineon.

This new move will enable Infineon to increase its overall capacity by approximately 15 000 wafer starts per month through SMIC’s 300mm production plant, which is currently being built in Beijing. In December 2002, the two companies signed an agreement whereby SMIC would manufacture memory chips in its 200mm plant in Shanghai using Infineon’s 0.14 micron DRAM trench technology exclusively for Infineon. Following the ramp-up of SMIC’s Beijing facility, the addition of the 15 000 wafer starts per month in 300mm technology to the 20 000 wafer starts per month in 200mm will result in a total capacity of 58 000 wafer starts in 200mm wafer equivalents. First products from the new 300mm plant are expected for Summer 2004.

Earlier SMIC signed outsourcing agreement with Winbond Electronics and Nanya. The company will continue executing its technology-for-capacity strategy.