Zeiss plans to accelerate its investment in Taiwan by injecting more than NT$10 billion (US $309 million) in the next 10 years after launching an innovation center in the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區) that would jointly develop advanced technologies with Taiwanese clients, the German manufacturer of optical systems and optoelectronics said yesterday.
In addition to the Hsinchu innovation center, the company has set up innovation centers in South Korea, the US and Germany.
Unlike other centers, the Taiwan center mainly focuses on developing solutions supporting next-generation process technologies and advanced packaging technologies because of the rapid uptake of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, Zeiss Taiwan head Cheong Peng Tat (章平達) said.
Photo: Grace Hung, Taipei Times
“This [investment] figure demonstrates our confidence in Taiwan's industries,” Cheong said. “We want to bring Zeiss's full portfolio to Taiwan.”
The innovation center costs NT$300 million, with a hefty investment in the semiconductor area, he said.
Zeiss Taiwan’s businesses cover five categories: semiconductor manufacturing technology, industrial quality and research, microscope, medical technology and consumer markets.
Zeiss Taiwan currently has 400 employees and plans to add 50 to 100 employees next year, Cheong said. The firm has more than tripled its headcount from 121 people in 2018.
Zeiss counts Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) among its top customers. TSMC CEO C.C. Wei (魏哲家) visited Zeiss headquarters in Jena, Germany on May 16.
“TSMC has extensive collaboration with Zeiss from advanced technologies to now back-end,” He Jun (何軍), vice president of TSMC’s quality and reliability and operations, said at the center’s opening ceremony.
The Hsinchu innovation center introduces Zeiss’ latest electron microscope and light microscope technologies to serve its clients, targeting equipment used in the advanced semiconductor manufacturing processes from front-end to back-end.
3D X-ray microscopes, software solutions with artificial intelligence (AI) and other exclusive technologies for R&D and custom advanced workflows for failure analysis from wafer to package.
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