Foundry Model - History

History

Originally, microelectronic devices were manufactured by companies that both designed and produced the devices. This was necessary because manufacturing involved tweaking parameters, precise understanding of the manufacturing processes being used, and the occasional need to redesign. These manufacturers were involved in both the research and development of manufacturing processes and the research and development of microcircuit design.

However, as manufacturing techniques developed, microelectronic devices became more standardised allowing them to be used by more than a single manufacturer. This standardization allowed design to be split from manufacture. A design that obeyed the appropriate design rules could be manufactured by different companies that had compatible manufacturing methods. An important development that allowed this was the introduction of advances in electronic design automation (EDA), which allowed circuit designers to exchange design data with other designers using different foundries.

Because of the separation of manufacture and design, new types of companies were founded. One type of company is called a fabless semiconductor company. These companies do not have any semiconductor manufacturing capability but rather contracted production from a manufacturer. This manufacturer is called a merchant foundry. The fabless company concentrates on the research and development of an IC-product; the foundry concentrates on fabricating and testing the physical product. If the foundry does not have any semiconductor design capability, it is called a pure-play semiconductor foundry.

An absolute separation into fabless and foundry companies is not necessary. Some companies continue to exist which perform both operations and benefit from the close coupling of their skills. Some companies manufacture some of their own designs and contract out to have others manufactured or designed, in cases where they see value or seek special skills. The foundry model is a business vision that seeks to optimize productivity.