History, teamwork come together at Siemen's Dresden Fab

DRESDEN, GERMANY—Siemens Microelectronics Center (SIMEC) is one fabrication facility that can actually claim a place in history. "Before the [Berlin] Wall came down, this was used as a military site," recounted Johann "Hans" Harter, director of fab operations. "The place where the modules are standing was a tank exercise area [for the Soviet army], so we had quite a bit of pollution. There was actually a gun turret laying in the woods a little bit down the hill . . . . This part of Dresden has a long military history." Before building the 8-inch advanced-process fab, old army barracks were demolished, and the grounds were meticulously cleared of waste and debris, with about 8 hectares turned back into heath and woods. A green consciousness pervades the manufacturing activities as well, with an emphasis on reuse, recycling, and clean disposal of water and chemicals. For example, the plant reuses 70% of its DI water, according to Harter. SIMEC also stands as a symbol of reunified Germany, the first fab built in what was once the German Democratic Republic, or GDR. More than 85% of the 2600 employees come from the former Communist country, according to Harter, with nearly 80% from the surrounding state of Saxony. A poignant irony is that during the Soviet occupation, the locals were forbidden to enter this one-time military zone. When Siemens dedicated the site, it was the first time many Dresdeners had ever visited it. Even SIMEC's facility layout symbolizes, in its own way, the coming together of a divided people. It features two integrated 5400-square-meter Class 1 ballrooms—Modules 1 and 2—which are largely equipped with the same tool sets. "Each area has a base structure with tools: litho, etch, wet, furnace, and so on—with two exceptions," explained Harter. "We have consolidated implantation in Module 1(except