PALMER TWP., Pa. – A company that makes lasers and high-tech semiconductor materials is in line to get tens of millions of dollars from the federal government.
On Thursday the U.S. Department of Commerce announced $79 million in funding for Coherent as part of a non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms (PMT).
Coherent has a plant at 2251 Newlins Mill Road, Easton (Palmer Twp.), PA, 18045.
According to a news release, the money will pay for an expansion of the manufacturing facility to increase production capacity of 150mm and 200mm silicon carbide (SiC) substrates, which are a bandgap material with end uses in energy and military applications.
The investment would also support the expansion of the facility’s SiC epitaxial wafer manufacturing capacity, back-end of line processing, electronic performance, and reliability testing capabilities, the news release said.
The project is expected to create 320 manufacturing jobs and 40 construction jobs at the Palmer facility.
It will also expand Coherent’s production capacity by over 750,000 substrates a year, and more than double the output of the epitaxial wafers it produces.
The money comes from the CHIPS and Science Act. It was one of several new non-binding agreements announced Thursday. The other sites receiving funding are in Massachusetts, Oregon, Washington, and Texas.
“Thanks to the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, we are making targeted investments up and down the semiconductor supply chain to revitalize semiconductor manufacturing in the United States and advance U.S. economic and national security,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, in a news release. “The proposed investments we’re announcing today would support projects that will bolster semiconductor and materials production across the country and advance America’s technological leadership on the world stage.”
Coherent is based in Saxonburg, Pa., but has locations around the world.
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