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Plus Semi re-emerged as Plessey Semiconductors in January 2010, bringing its Swindon engineering team together with the former X-FAB semiconductor facility at Roborough, Plymouth. The relaunched company aimed to keep serving foundry customers while developing its own analog and mixed-signal products.
When did Plus Semi become Plessey Semiconductors?
EE Times reported the relaunch on 11 January 2010. The transaction acquired the share capital of X-FAB UK Limited; Electronic Specifier reported that it completed on 6 January 2010 and was effective from 31 December 2009. The new operation combined the Roborough manufacturing facility in Plymouth with engineering capability at a Swindon design and technology centre. (EE Times; Electronic Specifier; Electronic Specifier)
In practical terms, the relaunch put the former X-FAB UK facility under the Plessey name and retained a UK semiconductor manufacturing base centred on Roborough. It was a combination of acquisition and renewed operation, rather than simply a renaming of a Swindon design business.
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What could the Roborough facility make?
At the relaunch, Roborough was operating an eight-inch (200-mm) wafer line for external customers, using 0.35-micron CMOS processes. Plessey said it planned to transfer bipolar process technologies from Swindon to Plymouth during 2010, including processes on silicon and silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates. The transfer was a plan announced at the time, not a claim that every process was already running at Roborough. (EE Times; Electronic Specifier)
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Semiconductor Today subsequently reported that Plessey was developing a 0.35-micron silicon-germanium BiCMOS process for the eight-inch line. It also reported annual capacity of 30,000 eight-inch wafers. That figure describes the facility’s reported capacity, not a disclosed annual production total. (Semiconductor Today)
Why pair foundry services with Plessey products?
The business model had two parts: continue manufacturing for external foundry customers, while using the company’s own design and manufacturing capabilities to develop proprietary analog and mixed-signal semiconductors. Managing director Michael LeGoff described the strategy as a return to the company’s roots in designing and manufacturing high-technology semiconductor products. (EE Times)
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Paul James, the commercial director, said the positioning addressed demand for high-performance analog technology and products; he said first product families were scheduled for release later in 2010. Semiconductor Today identified the company’s three stated core product lines as sensors, RF components and power-management devices. The reports describe the announced strategy and product focus, rather than a complete catalogue of products subsequently launched. (Electronic Specifier; Semiconductor Today)
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The South West Regional Development Agency was reported to be providing nearly £1 million through its Grant for Business Investment scheme. Separately, Semiconductor Today reported the Roborough facility’s annual capacity as 30,000 eight-inch wafers. These figures refer to different things: regional business support and stated manufacturing capacity. (Electronic Specifier; Semiconductor Today)
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