Singapore Advances Semiconductor Deep Tech from Research to Manufacturing Scale
Singapore leverages A*STAR and startups to move semiconductor innovations in power devices, metalenses, and silicon photonics toward industrial production.
Singapore is developing semiconductor deep-tech innovations across power electronics, flat optics, and silicon photonics by connecting research at A*STAR with startups and manufacturing platforms to support industrial deployment.
Quick Skim
Integrated Research and Early-Stage Development at A*STAR
The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) plays a central role in enabling technology translation from device research to commercial applications. At A*STAR’s Institute of Microelectronics (IME), senior scientist Chien Yu-Chieh focuses on silicon carbide (SiC) power MOSFETs, targeting next-generation device structures that address challenges such as gate oxide integrity and interface defects. A*STAR IME facilitates device design, fabrication, electrical characterisation, and reliability testing within a single R&D platform, accelerating development cycles.
Chien aims to advance the research results toward technology translation and possible startup formation. A*STAR IME has demonstrated 1.2-kV MOSFETs on 200-mm SiC wafers, covering device design through validation.
Startups and Scale-up Enhance Commercial Viability
MetaOptics, a Singapore-based startup established in 2021, specialises in manufacturing metalenses on glass substrates using nanoscale structures. The company employs deep ultraviolet (DUV) immersion lithography to fabricate titanium dioxide metalenses on 300-mm glass wafers, achieving visible-light focusing efficiencies exceeding 80%. MetaOptics is addressing challenges around customer validation, process consistency, yield, and manufacturing scale to support real-world optical applications.
Advanced Micro Foundry (AMF), originally spun out of A*STAR’s technology translation efforts, operates a 200-mm silicon photonics manufacturing platform offering prototyping, fabrication, and testing services. The foundry was acquired by GlobalFoundries in November 2025. GlobalFoundries projects AMF will generate over US$75 million in revenue in 2026 and hopes to grow silicon photonics revenue to more than US$1 billion annually by 2030.
GlobalFoundries plans to establish a silicon photonics R&D centre in Singapore in collaboration with A*STAR, focusing on next-generation technologies for data transmission at 400 Gbps and expanding manufacturing capacity to 300-mm wafers as demand increases.
Implications for Industrial Operations
This connected ecosystem from research through startups to expanded manufacturing platforms strengthens Singapore’s semiconductor sector by lowering barriers to commercialisation of complex technologies. Centralised R&D facilities reduce early-stage capital investment for startups, while existing production platforms and expertise enable scale-up and broader market access.
The capability to integrate device design, optical and semiconductor processes, and testing supports diverse applications including power electronics, optical sensing, and communications. This approach also creates opportunities for skills development and workforce readiness to support future growth in Asia-Pacific.
A*STAR’s assistant chief executive for innovation and enterprise, Yeo Yee Chia, describes this integrated support as essential “technology translation,” involving backward alignment from industry needs to build suitable equipment, talent, and technical capabilities that facilitate validation and commercial deployment of deep tech.
Looking ahead, the collaboration between A*STAR, startups like MetaOptics, and global companies such as GlobalFoundries will be pivotal to Singapore’s role in scaling advanced semiconductor technologies, particularly as demand for silicon photonics and power devices expands in communication, sensing, and energy sectors.
