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On February 27, 2006, Sipex Corp. signed a foundry-services agreement with Hangzhou Silan Microelectronics Co. Ltd. and its affiliate, Hangzhou Silan Integrated Circuit Co. Ltd. The deal combined wafer manufacturing with technology and product licenses and the transfer or sale of production equipment; its financial terms were not disclosed.
Who signed the agreement?
Sipex was a U.S. designer, manufacturer and marketer of high-performance analog integrated circuits. Its Chinese counterpart was Hangzhou Silan Microelectronics, a semiconductor designer, developer and manufacturer with foundry operations, together with Silan Integrated Circuit. The agreement was signed on February 27, 2006. Source
What did the deal cover?
The arrangement was made up of several linked agreements rather than a wafer-supply contract alone:
- Foundry manufacturing and wafer supply by Silan.
- Transfer and licensing of Sipex process technology, enabling Silan to manufacture using licensed know-how and Sipex maskworks.
- Product licenses covering specified Sipex products.
- Sale or transfer of production equipment.
The underlying documents included a process-technology transfer and license agreement, a wafer-supply agreement, a product-license agreement and a production-equipment sale agreement. Financial terms were not disclosed. Source
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Why was Sipex moving production?
Sipex had announced it would cease manufacturing at its Milpitas facility and outsource production to Silan’s operation in Hangzhou. The technology transfer was integral to that shift: Silan was to make and supply wafers using Sipex’s licensed process technology and maskworks, rather than simply receive finished products for distribution. Source Source
What technology and equipment were moving?
The contracts establish process-technology transfer and licensing, product licenses, wafer supply, and production-equipment sale or transfer. A contemporaneous Chinese report described the transferred know-how as BiCMOS process technology and the equipment movement as a six-inch chip-production line. It also reported that Silan was authorized to produce and sell some Sipex products in Greater China. Those specific details are reported in the contemporaneous account; the agreement summary itself describes the broader categories. Agreement summary Contemporaneous report
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How much capacity did Silan have?
Sipex reported that Silan operated two five-inch fab lines with monthly capacity of 20,000 IC wafers and 20,000 discrete-product wafers. Sipex’s plan was to ramp the Silan fab to 34,000 wafers per month, with Sipex equipment sent to Silan after the transition. The 34,000 figure was a planned capacity, not the reported combined monthly output or a claim that the ramp had already been completed. Sipex capacity figures, 2006
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the announcement does—and does not—establish
The announcement documents a manufacturing transition structured around wafer supply, process know-how, product licensing and equipment. It also gives a target for ramped capacity. It does not disclose the deal’s financial terms or establish how quickly the capacity plan was achieved.
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