ST invites Russia's Sitronics into Crolles2

Russia's Sitronics JSC is invited to join the Crolles2 technology alliance, Jean-Marc Chaumont, a VP at STMicroelectronics, told the Russian press.

Crolles2, which involves R&D activity and IC manufacturing, includes STMicroelectronics and IBM Corp. The partners are expected to develop manufacturing processes to 22nm and beyond in the next few years.

Sitronics, through its chipmaking unit Mikron based in Zelenograd, Russia, manufactures 0.18?m chips.

Alliance participation would provide the Russian company with experience in developing some of the world's most advanced IC processes.

Russia's chip industry, several generations behind the leading edge, has been attempting to speed up development and raise its profile. Mikron partnered with STMicroelectronics to develop advanced processes and another Russian chipmaker, Angstrem, did the same by linking up with AMD.

Sitronics hasn't publicly announced whether it would accept the invitation. The cost of entry to the alliance could be a barrier. In the past, NXP and Freescale both pulled out of Crolles2 largely due to cost issues.

- Drew Wilson
EE Times Europe