SilTerra Wafer Fabrication Facility

Fluor provided engineering, procurement, and construction management to Silterra for a wafer fab facility in Malaysia.

SilTerra required maximum use of local content of building materials, systems, and labor, and the project contribute a strong legacy back to Malaysia. Malaysians were trained in architecture, engineering, and construction technologies of semiconductor factory design and critical fabrication processes.

The project was the winner of Semiconductor International Top Fab of 2002. The award was recognition of SilTerra's commitment to provide high quality process technologies to clients in the semiconductor marketplace.

Client's Challenge

SilTerra Malaysia is a premier semiconductor manufacturing service provider that offers customers leading-edge CMOS process technologies. The wafer fab facility at the time manufactured LOGIC and ASIC devices on 200 mm wafers.

The site is located in Kulim Hi-Tech Park, Malaysia's first high technology industrial park in northern Malaysia, about 25 km from the Penang Port. The site was master planned so that the initial building in the future could double manufacturing capabilities. SilTerra manufactured LOGIC and ASIC devices of 0.25 micron, 0.20 micron, and 0.15-micron geometry on 200mm wafers. Initial production was set at 3,500 wafer starts per month, ramping up to 7,000 by mid-2003.

Fluor's Solution

Fluor provided engineering, procurement, and construction management for SilTerra's award-winning Fab 1 facility.

The project contained the following functional areas that totaled more than 44,000 square meters:

Fabrication and Process Support Building
The building is divided into two areas: a 7,900 square meter process support area dedicated to material storage, testing, and specialized support functions; and a 16,100 square meter fabrication area that includes a 7,800 square meter, Class 100 “ballroom” on level two.
Central Utility Building (CUB )
The 4,625 square meters building supplies the mechanical and electrical energy to the entire physical plant. The CUB is a two-story structure, separated from the Fab by the service loop road. All utilities running over to the Fab are conveyed through an overhead trestle structure, providing easy access and flexibility for future changes.

Chemical and Waste Treatment Building
This building contains the process-related chemicals and waste treatment areas supporting the fabrication process. The 4,675-square meter building is located adjacent to the Fab for chemical safety and ease of distribution. All chemicals used in the fabrication process are delivered, stored, and dispensed into the Fab from this building. The waste treatment facility featured extensive water recycling capabilities while ensuring safe discharge of any process wastes into the municipal systems. Extensive air abatement systems are located on the roof of this building.
Office Building
Four story structure that contained 10,500 square meters of administration, engineering, human resources, security, employee facilities, conference, communications, and financial support activities for the manufacturing operation. The high-tech, best quality image is the focal point of the site and the point of entry for both staff and visitors.
Site Surau
(Future Facility)

Conclusion

Fluor supported SilTerra's goal of building a state-of-the-art wafer manufacturing facility using local content and transfer technology to the local Malaysian workers.

The greenfield Wafer Technology project achieved 6 million safe work hours in December 2001.