Introduction

The Thai Microelectronics Center (TMEC) was approved by the Thai government on October 3, 1995 as an Integrated Circuit (IC) Fabrication R&D center. At first, the project of TMEC consists of clean room construction, IC fabrication line, and utilities. After the infrastructure was completed, TMEC was graciously opened by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn on April the 27th, 2004.

Currently, TMEC carries out research and development to create prototypes that can be commercialized such as

CMOS IC, MEMS, sensors and the integration of MEMS and sensors with CMOS IC. It also collaborates with local universities and organizations in microelectronic research activities. Apart from promoting Thailand electronic industry through research and development in all fields of microelectronics including nanotechnology, TMEC supports educational institutions and industries in microelectronics human resource development. Furthermore, TMEC aims to develop local microelectronic prototypes for industrial mass production and supports local IC designers, resulting in emerging IC design industries in Thailand.

MEC has the capability to carry out surface-micromachining and all standard IC processing with the minimum resolution of 0.5 ?m. TMEC foundry was originally designed for research and development purposes; it is small and versatile. This means that the customers will not be limited to pre-defined fabrication technologies and guarantees that process development is tailored for specific design requirements. On the other hand, the facility has more than enough capacity to produce a number of Si wafer lots annually, ensuring that TMEC will meet its customers’ small volume manufacturing demands. Furthermore, the team at TMEC has the expertise and a wide range of tools for measurement, testing, and analysis. This allows TMEC to conduct extensive studies on design/process technology choices as well as to identify and to overcome technical challenges normally encountered in device prototyping.

Missions

1. To enhance the capabilities of electronic industry in Thailand by developing microelectronic product prototypes and products for industrial applications, including promoting local IC design industry in Thailand.
2. To develop high-level skilled personnels in microelectronics by collaborating with educational institutes and industries.
3. To establish knowledge base and engage in resource and development over extensive areas of microelectronics.

Research Topics

TMEC performs researches in the following areas:

Integrated circuit designs

1. Semiconductor processing technologies
2. MEMS technologies
3. Sensor technologies

Lab Facilities

1. 000 m2 of Class 100 and Class 10000 cleanroom with additional support areas
2. 150mm wafer production line for Si CMOS technology
3. Design softwares for integrated circuits: EDA tools including Cadence IC design environment, Tanner EDA tools, and Xilinx ISE Foundation
4. Process and device simulation softwares: TSUPREM and MEDICI
5. Mask making facilities
6. Measurement and analysis tools

Lab Director

In 1994, he joined NECTEC, where he has been involved in the national microelectronics project. From 1997, he got a scholarship from Thai government supported through NSTDA and joined the Interuniversitaire Micro-Electronica Centrum (IMEC) in Belgium to do his master and doctoral research under the direction of Prof. C. Claeys. His research covered the field of device physics and defect engineering. Since December 2002, he has been with TMEC.
During doing the research at IMEC, he was in the team who scaled down CMOS technology from 0.35 ?m to 90nm. His study involved the electrical characterization technique for CMOS and the method in yield improvement which can be applied for testing initial silicon wafers.

Contact Information

Thai Microelectronics Center (TMEC)
51/4 Moo 1 Suwintawond Road, Wangtakien, Muang, Chachoengsao 24000, THAILAND
Tel: +66 (0)38-857-100..9
Fax: +66 (0)38-857-175
http://tmec.nectec.or.th