"Conceptual illustration of Sigetronics' M-FAB specialty foundry platform (AI-generated image)"

Sigetronics, a next-generation specialty semiconductor company led by CEO Kyu-Hwan Shim, announced on June 23 that it plans to complete its Multi-Purpose Fabrication Facility (M-FAB)-based specialty semiconductor platform by the end of this year and accelerate the expansion of its Specialty Foundry business.

Unlike general-purpose foundries that focus on advanced process technologies below 5 nanometers, specialty foundries provide mature process technologies and specialized manufacturing solutions optimized for specific industries and applications, including automotive semiconductors such as microcontroller units (MCUs) and power semiconductors, as well as analog and power devices.

Upon completing its IDM-based M-FAB platform by the end of the year, Sigetronics plans to actively enter the specialty foundry market, providing manufacturing services for a wide range of semiconductor products. The company aims to offer a one-stop specialty foundry service covering the entire development cycle—from research and development (R&D), prototyping, packaging, reliability evaluation, testing, and qualification to mass production—thereby helping strengthen Korea’s semiconductor ecosystem.

The company’s M-FAB platform is equipped with manufacturing infrastructure capable of supporting not only silicon-based semiconductor technologies but also compound semiconductor materials such as gallium arsenide (GaAs), gallium nitride (GaN), and silicon carbide (SiC). Sigetronics possesses a broad portfolio of specialty semiconductor technologies, including ESD protection devices such as transient voltage suppressors (TVS) and Zener diodes; optical sensors based on photodiodes (PDs), avalanche photodiodes (APDs), phototransistors, and GaAs infrared LEDs (IREDs); MCT (MOS-Controlled Thyristor) power switches; GaN power and RF semiconductors; and MEMS sensors.

The company’s key differentiators include in-house epitaxial growth technology, optical thin-film filter processes, ultra-thin flip-chip packaging technology, and high-voltage device design capabilities. These strengths enable Sigetronics to perform the entire process from design and development to mass production internally. As a result, customers can benefit from shorter development cycles, lower costs, and higher production success rates while maintaining superior quality.

Leveraging its M-FAB platform, Sigetronics aims to grow into Korea’s leading specialty semiconductor platform company supporting the commercialization of future technologies and serving as a key partner in realizing the AI Mobility era.

“The specialty semiconductor foundry market is expected to experience strong growth driven by electric vehicles, AI data centers, humanoid robots, 6G communications, aerospace, and defense industries,” said Deokho Cho, Head of Research Institute at Sigetronics. “If High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) serves as the core infrastructure for AI computing, specialty semiconductors are the critical interface that connects AI to the physical world.”

He added, “As the industry transitions beyond Generative AI into the era of Physical AI, the importance of specialty semiconductors capable of sensing and controlling the real world is rapidly increasing across automotive, autonomous driving, robotics, drones, smart factories, aerospace, and defense applications. Future systems will evolve into intelligent platforms integrating sensors, power semiconductors, radio frequency (RF) technologies, and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), driving continued demand for high-performance and high-reliability specialty semiconductors.”

ETNews, June 23, 2026