Chip-making factory aims to boost Swiss semiconductors

The Swiss Fablab project is modelled on other labs , such as Micronova in Finland. VTT

The Swiss semiconductor industry, backed by leading universities, is laying plans to build a national chip production and research centre. The proposed facility is the centrepiece of a strategy to prevent the domestic chip sector from being left behind by other big-spending nations. 

+Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox

The proposed Chip FabLab (fabrication laboratory), at the Innovation Park Zurich, is intended to develop and produce chips for high-end niche applications, such as robotics, self-driving vehicles, satellite communication and quantum computing. 

The consortium behind the plan is seeking state support and financing to get it off the ground. 

The FabLab would be modelled on the Finnish VTT Micronova and Belgian Imec FabLabs that have stimulated local semiconductor sectors. “Switzerland will miss out if we don’t follow this example. We must move forwards fast, or our industry will disappear,” warns Jürg Leuthold, who heads the department of information technology and electrical engineering at the federal technology institute ETH Zurich. 

The Swiss project, which is still at the drawing board phase, comes as other countries are pumping billions into boosting their semiconductor industries.  

For example, Italy is investing €2 billion (CHF1.87 billion) into a €5 billion STMicroelectronics production site in Sicily. In the United States, computer chip manufacturer Texas Instruments is stumping up $60 billion (CHF48 billion) to boost production at its US plants.  

Bespoke chips 

The Swiss Chip FabLab is more modest and does not aim to compete with the mass production of chips in other countries. But designing and producing a smaller number of bespoke chips would still require an initial investment of around CHF100 million ($125 million), rising to CHF300 million to offer the full range of chip fabrication services.  

The facility as planned includes a 4,000 square metre “cleanroom”, a spotless workshop that keeps production lines free from the slightest contamination, such as dust. It is hoped the laboratory will start operations within the next five years. 

A similar facility, founded 30 years ago in Finland, has been credited with boosting the domestic semiconductor industry. The Micronova facility boasts a cleanroom, research labs and space for private companies. It is set to be joined by a new €100 million cleanroom, called Kvanttinova, for quantum technology. 

“We’re a combination of companies making products, our own research and development (R&D) services plus Aalto University concentrating on basic science,” said Tauno Vähä-Heikkilä, Vice-President for Microelectronics and Quantum Technologies at the state-owned VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. 

“One of our biggest success stories is supporting start-ups as they scale up their businesses,” he added. “In the semiconductor industry, growth costs tens to hundreds of millions in investments.” Small companies can rent time on machines in Micronova workspaces while larger firms can set up their own facilities within the shared workspace.  

Vähä-Heikkilä predicts private enterprise will invest some €500 million into their own activities at the new Kvanttinova site. 

“Investing in similar infrastructure would for sure accelerate semiconductor growth in Switzerland,” said Vähä-Heikkilä. 

Positive feedback

Private industry and public academia are now joining forces under the Swiss Chip Alliance banner to focus attention on Switzerland’s small, high-end semiconductor industry. The alliance wants to maintain Swiss semiconductor competitiveness as the industry grows worldwide. 

The proposed Chip FabLab is being championed by electrical engineering industry association Swissmem, ETH Zurich and the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (EMPA). The project has also attracted the interest of Swiss-based chip specialists, such as ESPROS research partners and Hitachi Energy, which currently holds the presidency of Swissmem’s semiconductor industry group SEMI.  

But it will likely take several more months for the public and private sector partners to agree on financing, says Lars Sommerhäuser, head of advanced manufacturing at EMPA. 

“All the feedback has so far been positive, but we haven’t yet signed any contracts,” he said. “Given this support, I’m confident the Chip FabLab will materialise. But we don’t yet know how much financing can be raised or how fast.” 

Talks are being held with both the federal and cantonal authorities, but the initiative has not yet achieved concrete state support. Both the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) say they have not yet formally signed up for the project. 

The canton Zurich Economic Development Agency said it is following the FabLab proposal “with great interest” as the semiconductor industry is of “central importance” to the region. But the agency declined to give any further details. 

‘Valuable bridge’ 

The FabLab proposal comes a time when Switzerland’s parliament is debating a proposal to shave billions from the federal budget.  

But supporters of the facility insist it would pay back investments over time. It makes more sense for researchers and businesses to share rented facilities in one space than to spread out numerous replica versions across the country, said Leuthold of ETH Zurich.  

“Setting up and maintaining cleanrooms involves a significant cost,” he said. “Consolidating labs is not only more cost-efficient, it would also increase usage time on machines that otherwise sit idle for periods of time before becoming outdated.” 

The digital technology association digitalswitzerland also sees great potential for a Chip FabLab to boost emerging technologies such as quantum computing, 6G communications, space electronics, and edge AI applications.  

“It could serve as a valuable bridge between research and industrial application, providing the necessary infrastructure for technology transfer and prototype development,” the organisation told Swissinfo in an email. 

The Chip FabLab project coordinators hope to unveil concrete detailed plans for the facility at the end of this year. 

Edited by Gabe Bullard/ts