Vishay receives funding to make power chips on 300mm wafers in Itzehoe

Funding for the production of chips on 300mm wafers in Itzehoe has been handed over to Vishay, according to heise online. The money supports the expansion of the company's chip factory in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein 1.

The source describes the project as a move to larger silicon discs. Power MOSFETs made in Schleswig-Holstein are to be manufactured on these bigger wafers in future, while Vishay expands its chip fab at the site 1. The material available to us does not give the size of the funding, the identity of the body that provided it, or a timetable for the expansion, so those details cannot be reported here.

The project matters because it keeps production of power semiconductors, a basic component in many electronic systems, in Europe and moves it to a larger wafer format at an existing German site 1. Larger wafers are generally used to raise output per production run, though the source does not quantify any such gain for Itzehoe. What happens next is the expansion of the fab itself, which the report presents as the purpose of the funding 1. Further details on investment levels, capacity and start of production have not been provided in the source and would need confirmation from Vishay or the funding authorities.