Small-scale production is now under way at Thesys Gesellschaft fur Mikroelektronik mbH, the semiconductor company jointly set up in Erfurt, East Germany by LSI Logic Corp of Milpitas, California and the successors of the former Erfurt Microelectronics Combine (CI No 1,973). The facility is intended to serve small to medium-sized companies across Europe initially although it could eventually supply US customers too. It is to develop and manufacture gate-array and standard cell application-specific integrated circuits on 6 wafers, using CMOS and BiCMOS technology. The first prototypes will be ready by the end of the year, with volume production to begin in early 1993. Some 150 wafers per day will be produced at the site once it is in full swing, a capacity that is expected to double over the next two years. LSI Logic has a 19.8% stake in the project, with an option to assume a controlling interest by 1994. The Land of Thuringia, represented by the Hessen-Thuringen Landesbank, has the option to sell additional shares in the company to suitable corporate partners. Presidency of the firm is shared by general manager for marketing and sales Claudio Loddo, and general manager for administration and personnel Hans-Jurgen Straub. It is hoped that the project will re-establish Erfurt as a European microelectronics centre.
