Samsung Begins Equipment Installation at Austin Plant to Supply CIS Sensors for iPhones
South Korean media outlet The Elec reports that Samsung is expected to install equipment at its Austin, Texas facility to produce CMOS image sensors (CIS) for Apple's iPhones.
Last week, Samsung posted a job opening for a Mechanical and Electrical Project Manager primarily responsible for hookup engineering at its wafer fab. “Hookup” refers to the installation of utility pipelines for natural gas, water, and other services within the facility. The manager overseeing this project must coordinate between designers, suppliers, and equipment engineers.
This job posting also indicates that cleanroom infrastructure work is nearing completion, with equipment installation scheduled after hookup is finalized. Concurrently, Samsung is recruiting technicians and equipment engineers for wafer cleaning systems.
Wafer cleaning equipment primarily removes surface contaminants from silicon wafers, as impurities like excess oxide layers or defective metals can cause circuit defects. Consequently, cleaning processes account for up to 40% of steps in chip fabrication.
Earlier this month, Samsung notified the Austin City Council of a $19 billion investment in its Austin facility for maintenance and advanced equipment procurement. Sources indicate this additional investment relates to Samsung's new CIS supply contract signed with Apple in August.
Samsung plans to employ wafer-to-wafer hybrid bonding technology, stacking three wafers to create the new CIS. Each wafer will be dedicated to photodiodes, transistors, and analog-to-digital converters respectively. This structure enables smaller pixels and reduced noise.
The new CIS production line is expected to commence operations as early as March next year.