GIST proposes to build ‘Giants’, an open fab linked to the Honam semiconductor industrial complex

(Gwangju, South Jeolla Province = Yonhap News) Reporter Jang Ah-reum = Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) is planning to build a large-scale open fab in connection with the Honam Semiconductor Industrial Complex, which is being built with the goal of mass production in 2030.

According to the GIST AI Semiconductor Research Institute establishment promotion team on the 9th, the promotion team proposed to Jeonnam Gwangju Unified Special City a plan to build 'GIANTS (Global Institute of AI and Technology of Semiconductor)', an open fab that conducts artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor design, advanced packaging, verification, and industrial verification in one place.

Giants is a model in which universities, government-funded research institutes, and companies jointly conduct research and development and verification, breaking away from the monopoly of research facilities by specific institutions or companies.

The advanced AI semiconductor fab center (ANGELS), which GIST is aiming to complete in 2028, is scheduled to be equipped with an 8-inch wafer entire process and an advanced packaging process.

Giants goes one step further and aims to create a facility that can produce and demonstrate 12-inch wafers mass-produced by companies such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

The promotion team said that while the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster focuses on linking memory pre-processing and mass production, Giants specializes in AI semiconductor design, post-processing, 3D advanced packaging, and yield verification.

GIST selected approximately 20,000 square meters in the Sangmu District Urban Convergence Special Zone, adjacent to the planned semiconductor industrial complex site, as the site.

It is predicted that if construction begins around 2028, it will be helpful in conducting research functions in advance in the hinterland complex, integrating materials/parts/equipment companies, demonstrating products, and supplying manpower.

Yang Yang, head of the GIST AI Semiconductor Research Institute establishment promotion team, said, “We plan to discuss with the government and local governments with the goal of Gwangju Open Fab building a semiconductor talent training ladder and growing into a demonstration base for Asian small and medium-sized companies.”