The story
Soitec was founded in 1992 near Grenoble in France by two researchers from CEA Leti, an institute for micro- and nanotechnologies research created by the French Commission for Atomic Energy and Alternative Energies (CEA). The pair developed Smart Cut™ technology to industrialize Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) wafers, and built their first production unit in Bernin, in the Isère department of France.
Soitec's offering initially targeted the electronics market. At the end of the 2000s, Soitec launched into the solar energy and lighting markets, exploiting new openings for its materials and technologies.
In 2010, the company filed 250 patents in France, as well as in the United States, China, and several Asian countries.
In 2015, the company announced that it would be refocusing its efforts on its core business: electronics.
Soitec employs about 2000 people throughout the world and currently has production units in France and in Singapore. The company also has R&D centers and commercial offices in France, the United States (Arizona and California), China, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.
Key dates
1963: SOS is invented at North American Aviation.
1965: The first MEMS device is invented at Westinghouse.
1978: Hewlett-Packard develops SPER.
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1979: NOSC starts researching thin-film SOS.
1988: NOSC publishes their SOS findings.
1989: IBM starts researching SOI.
1990: Peregrine Semiconductor is founded.
1991: Peregrine Semiconductor launches the commercialization of SOS (UltraCMOS).
1992: Creation of Soitec by researchers from CEA Leti in Grenoble, France.
1995: Peregrine Semiconductor delivers its first product.
1995: IBM commercializes SOI.
1997: CEA-Leti spins off Tronics Microsystems to commercialize SOI MEMS.
1997: Soitec shifts to mass production after the signature of a Smart Cut™ technology licensing agreement with Shin Etsu Handotai (SEH).
1999: Construction of Soitec's first production site in Bernin (Bernin 1), and launch of Soitec's initial public offering.
2001: IBM unveils RF-SOI technology
2001: CEA-Leti and Motorola start collaborating on the development of high aspect ratio SOI MEMS.
2002: OKI ships the first commercial FD-SOI LSI.
2002: Inauguration of Bernin 2, a Soitec manufacturing unit dedicated to 300-mm diameter wafers.
2003: Soitec acquires Picogiga International, a company specializing in technologies for III-V composite materials, and the first foray into materials other than SOI.
2005: Freescale introduces HARMEMS.
2006: Soitec acquires Tracit Technologies, a company specializing in molecular adhesion and mechanical and chemical thinning processes, enabling diversification into new applications for Smart Cut™ technology.
2008: Soitec opens a production unit in Asia, in Singapore. In 2012, this unit housed the SOI wafer recycling business. In 2013, production stopped at the unit to prepare for the company's new Fully Depleted Silicon on Insulator (FD-SOI) technology.
2009: Soitec acquires Concentrix Solar, a German supplier of concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) systems, Soitec thus entering the solar energy market.
2011: Soitec acquires Altatech Semiconductor, a company specialized in developing equipment for producing semiconductors.
2012: Soitec opens a production unit for CPV modules in San Diego, California, with a capacity of 140 MW, upgradeable to 280 MW.
2012: GlobalFoundries and STMicroelectronics sign a sourcing agreement for 28 nm and 20 nm FD-SOI devices. GlobalFoundries agreed to manufacture wafers for STMicroelectronics using the latter's CMOS28FDSOI. The FD-SOI technology originates from the cooperation between Soitec, ST and CEA Leti.
2013: Soitec signs a Smart Cut™ licensing agreement with Sumitomo Electric to develop the gallium nitride (GaN) wafer market for LED lighting applications. Signature of another agreement, with GT Advanced Technologies, to develop and commercialize equipment for producing wafers for manufacturing LEDs and other industrial applications.
2014: Samsung and STMicroelectronics sign a foundry and license agreement. It enables Samsung to use the FD-SOI technology to produce 28 nm integrated circuits. Soitec solar energy division also inaugurates the first 50% of South African Touwsrivier solar plant, which will have a final total capacity of 44 MWp. The plant was never completed.
2015: Samsung qualifies their 28FDS process.
2015: After the stoppage of some important solar projects in the United States, Soitec announces a strategic shift toward its electronics business and a plan to leave the solar energy business.
2015: Peregrine Semiconductor and GlobalFoundries announce in July the first 300mm RF-SOI platform (130 nm).
2015: GlobalFoundries announces in July the implementation of a technological platform for producing 22-nm FD-SOI chips (22FDX).
2015: Soitec and Simgui announce the first Chinese production of 200mm SOI wafers.
2015: CEA Leti demos MEMS on 300mm SOI wafers.
2016: Soitec starts volume manufacturing of 300mm RF-SOI wafers.
2017: GlobalFoundries announces 45RFSOI.
2017: Samsung announces 18FDS.
2017: IBM and GlobalFoundries announce a custom FinFET-on-SOI process (14HP).
2017: Soitec signs a five-year agreement to supply GlobalFoundries with FD-SOI wafers.
2018: STMicroelectronics adopts GlobalFoundries' 22FDX.
2018: Soitec and MBDA acquire the Dolphin Integration assets.
2019: Soitec signs a high-volume agreement to supply Samsung with FD-SOI wafers.
2019: Soitec acquires EpiGaN
2019: Soitec signs high-volume agreements to supply GlobalFoundries with SOI wafers.
2020: GlobalFoundries announces the 22FDX+ platform.
2020: Soitec signs a multi-year agreement to supply GlobalFoundries with 300mm RF-SOI wafers.
2022: start of building of the Bernin 4 facility for SiC wafers, intended to start production in 2024.
From Wikipedia’s article on Soitec, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.7