PENANG, Malaysia – More than two years after breaking ground in 2007, Osram Opto Semiconductors has completed the construction and process-testing phases for its 377,000 square foot LED chip production plant here. Regular production of LED chips has now commenced. The facility in Penang makes Osram Opto Semiconductors the first LED manufacturer with high-volume chip production facilities in both Europe and Asia. Osram's main facility, in Regensburg, Germany, was expanded in 2008. About 2,600 of Osram's total work force of 4,400 are based at the Malaysian facility.
The facility, which represents an investment of "tens of millions of Euros," according to the company, is producing 4-inch-wafer-based indium gallium nitride (InGaN) semiconductor chips, which form the basis for the blue, green and white LEDs used primarily in architectural and general lighting, for display backlighting, and in mobile terminal devices.
"There is no question that the rise of the LED, which has only just begun, is set to sky-rocket in the coming years," said Dr. Rüdiger Müller, CEO of Osram Opto Semiconductors. "This is why we are pursuing our investment and expansion course consistently and uncompromisingly, even in this difficult economic environment."
For more information, please visit www.osram-os.com.
