Microelectronics in Dresden
Mask shop AMTC invests heavily in the future
The Advanced Mask Technology Center AMTC in Dresden is investing 130 million euros in cleanroom capacity, production equipment and research & development, thus sustainably strengthening Silicon Saxony as a microelectronics location.
The Dresden-based Advanced Mask Technology Center AMTC, a joint venture of Globalfoundries and Toppan Photomasks Inc., is now implementing the largest expansion project since its foundation in 2002. With an investment of around 130 million euros in cleanroom expansion, additional production facilities, research & development and new jobs, the AMTC aims to consolidate its position as Europe's leading manufacturer of photomasks for the global semiconductor industry.
Photomasks are glass substrates that contain precise, highly complex images in atomic resolution of circuits for the production of semiconductors. These masks are therefore an indispensable and valuable component in chip manufacturing. Globalfoundries' plants in Germany, USA, Singapore and leading European and global semiconductor companies source photomasks from Dresden.
»The AMTC is one of the hidden champions in Germany and Europe,« said Thomas Schmidt, Managing Director of the AMTC. »Photomasks from Dresden are used all over the world for chip manufacturing, and the AMTC can be found in countless electronic products that we deal with day in, day out, professionally and privately.«
In the past 12 months, the AMTC has expanded its clean room area by 900 m2 to a total of 3300 m2. This area is needed to create space for the latest equipment from the sister plant BTVM in Burlington, Vermont (USA). Globalfoundries and Toppan Photomasks announced a few days ago that they are outsourcing their mask production in the USA to their partner Toppan Photomasks and that they are also expanding their capacity at the AMTC in Dresden.
»Due to our capacity expansion we are now looking for more than 40 qualified skilled workers and engineers and are looking forward to numerous applications«, stated Thomas Schmidt. The AMTC currently employs more than 250 people.
The new facilities at the AMTC increase the capacity of the Dresden plant, especially for the production of photomasks down to 12 nm technology nodes, as well as for the next lithography generation, which operates under the abbreviation EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet Light). These are also the fields in which the AMTC is investing in further research and development with German and European partners at its Dresden location.
The AMTC was founded in 2002 and has since invested more than 650 million euros in its Saxon production capacity and development activities. With the latest project, the cumulative investment sum rises to 780 million euros.
