Recently, Beijing Sai Microelectronics Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the “Company”) issued an announcement stating that the company received a notice from the management of the holding subsidiary Silex Microsystems AB (hereinafter referred to as “Sweden Silex”) on October 5, 2021. Silex has received an official decision from the Swedish Inspectorate of Strategic Products (ISP) and confirmed by the Swedish Silex management at the on-site meeting with the ISP that the Swedish Silex submitted to the Swedish ISP in November 2020 to the company The license application of the holding subsidiary Celex Microsystems Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Celex Beijing”) to export and officially manufacture the first batch of MEMS products related technologies and products was rejected by the Swedish ISP, that is, the Swedish ISP blocked Sweden Silex continues to enter into the following transactions with Silex Beijing:

(1) Export technology, software and products related to MEMS manufacturing, development, testing or analysis equipment, and related technologies, software and products can be used to develop and manufacture MEMS products;

2) Export MEMS infrared microbolometers, MEMS accelerometers, MEMS gyroscopes and related technologies.

In the above-mentioned decision document, the Swedish ISP considers that the Swedish Silex cannot appeal the decision under the relevant provisions of Section 25 of the Swedish Dual-Use Goods and Technical Assistance Control Act.

According to the official decision and the content of the on-site meeting, due to external force majeure, Sweden Silex cannot continue to perform the “Technical Service Agreement” and “License Agreement” signed by it and Silex Beijing in 2018, that is, the technical service agreement between the two parties from the fourth quarter of 2020. The cooperation suspension status will continue. The Silex Beijing 8-inch MEMS production line needs to continue to explore relevant production know-how independently, and it may take more time and cost to realize the process maturity; the expansion of the foundry MEMS wafer category will continue to rely on itself and cannot pass the technology of Sweden Silex Support to achieve acceleration; for Sweden’s Silex’s original mainland Chinese customers, its plan to transfer production to Silex Beijing may also be slowed down.

Sweden’s Silex’s global MEMS process development and wafer fabrication operations are not affected by the Swedish ISP’s decision.

The announcement notice pointed out that since the Swedish ISP made a decision in October 2020 that the transaction between Sweden Silex and Silex Beijing needs to apply for an export license, the company and the Swedish Silex management have actively responded on the basis of rational analysis. In November 2009, it submitted a license application to the Swedish ISP to export and formally manufacture the first batch of MEMS products-related technologies and products to Celex Beijing, and hired the Swedish Setterwalls law firm to evaluate the ISP’s decision and related legal risks.

A legal opinion issued by Setterwalls in January 2021 stated, “The ISP decision indicates that certain MEMS technologies constitute dual-use items requiring export licensing (as such technologies can be used for military purposes), if the Swedish ISP makes an ISP decision by After exporting the relevant technology to China, most of the technology is likely to require an export license. If the Swedish ISP can determine, based on the relevant application, that the exported technology will not be used for military purposes or pose a risk to public safety/human rights after export, the Swedish ISP will An export license should be granted.

In view of the fact that Sweden Silex has made relevant applications to the Swedish ISP and has fully provided relevant information about Silex Beijing to confirm that the cooperation between the two parties will not be used for military purposes or pose a risk to public safety/human rights, therefore, the current situation does not change ( i.e. outbreak of war or armed conflict), the Swedish ISP should grant an export license. Therefore, the risk of Swedish ISPs preventing Swedish Silex from exporting products and technologies to Silex Beijing is low. However, considering the current complex international political environment, the relevant laws and regulations on the export of dual-use goods in Sweden and the EU, and how the Swedish National Security Protection Act and its amendments will be interpreted and applied in practice cannot be completely determined. The company introduced technology from Sweden Silex. There is a risk that an export license will not be granted.

At the same time, the management of the company and the Swedish Silex have been trying to communicate with the relevant departments of the Swedish government, stating that when the Swedish Silex and Silex Beijing signed the “Technical Service Agreement” and “License Agreement” in 2018, there were no Swedish laws and regulations to deal with this. Restrictions or the Swedish government departments require review or restriction, the relevant agreement texts comply with local laws and regulations, and the MEMS business of Celex Beijing will not be used for military purposes or pose risks to public safety/human rights. It is hoped that the normal technical and commercial cooperation between the two parties can To be treated fairly and justly by the Swedish government.

After about a year of evaluation and communication, the Swedish ISP still made a decision to reject the above export license application. The company deeply regrets this decision. The company solemnly declares that the company has been isolated from the original navigation and avionics business since it launched the semiconductor business, and up to now, the company has completely divested the avionics and inertial navigation business. cause risks; the company has always operated in compliance with laws and regulations, and the business activities of the company and its subsidiaries at home and abroad strictly abide by the laws and regulations of the relevant countries and regions involved.

Since the technical cooperation between Sweden’s Silex and Silex Beijing has been suspended since the fourth quarter of 2020, the production and operation activities of the two holding subsidiaries have been carried out normally. There is no material adverse effect on the financial condition, which will adversely affect the medium and long-term development of Beijing FAB3. The management of the company and the Swedish Silex will continue to communicate with the relevant departments of the Swedish government, and take all feasible measures as the case may be, actively seek possible solutions on the basis of the self-reliance of Beijing FAB3, and strive to resolve the adverse effects brought about by the decision of the Swedish ISP. to the lowest level.

Sai Microelectronics Beijing 8-inch MEMS international foundry line started mass production!

In June this year, the “8-inch MEMS International Foundry Line” (Beijing FAB3) of Celex Microsystems Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd., jointly invested by Beijing Sai Microelectronics Co., Ltd. and the National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, officially started mass production .

According to reports, the first chip successfully mass-produced by Beijing FAB3 is a MEMS microphone chip from General Micro Technology Co., Ltd. (GMEMS). This type of chip has the characteristics of high signal-to-noise ratio and high AOP. Consistent performance; MEMS microphones based on this chip package have excellent performance, comparable to similar products from internationally renowned sensor companies such as Knowles Electronics and Infineon. After strict wafer-level performance testing by General Micro Technology and performance testing and reliability verification of MEMS microphones, it is confirmed that the performance of the finished product meets the design index requirements, which is consistent with the key performance of the MEMS microphone packaged based on the foundry chip packaged by FAB in Sweden. At the same time, the yield of the first batch of wafers manufactured by FAB3 is at the same level as that of FAB1&2 in Sweden, and mass commercial production has begun.

The report pointed out that General Micro Technology is a world-leading supplier of MEMS sensor chips. Its technical team is led by Dr. Wang Yunlong, a pioneer of domestic acoustic MEMS sensors, and has been rooted in acoustic MEMS for nearly two decades. Universal Micro gathers the world’s top experts in acoustic processing algorithms and sensor chips, combines the research and development of acoustic micro-sensors with artificial intelligence-based algorithms and software, starts with acoustic principles, and integrates MEMS sensor chips, algorithms, And digital signal processors or microprocessors, opening up the entire industry chain from sensor chips to modules, solving core problems such as wake-up, low-power standby, and cocktail party effects in voice interaction. This time, the MEMS chip developed by GMEMS has been mass-produced in China for the first time, which fills the most critical and important part in establishing a complete domestic supply chain system for it.

Saiwei emphasized in the report. The mass production of Beijing FAB3 this time allows Sai Microelectronics to have advanced and high-quality 8-inch MEMS production lines in the industry in Stockholm, Sweden and Beijing, China. At the same time, Beijing FAB3 can provide standardized scale production capacity, which is beneficial to the company. Further expand the global market, especially the Asian market, combine advanced technology and large-scale production capacity to better serve downstream customers, and at the same time continue to expand the company’s competitive advantage in MEMS business and maintain its global leading position in the field of pure MEMS foundry.

The official mass production of the 8-inch MEMS international foundry line in Beijing is an important milestone achieved by the company in the past six years of hard work. key turning point and starting point. Sai Microelectronics welcomes cooperation with MEMS design manufacturers in various fields around the world, especially in China, and contributes to the independent development of China’s MEMS industry.