IQE Sues Tower Semiconductor in Chip Component Dispute

On July 18th, chip component supplier IQE has filed a lawsuit in federal court in California, accusing Israeli chip maker Tower Semiconductor of misappropriating trade secrets related to its porous silicon technology.

In an official statement, IQE asserted that there is significant evidence that Tower Semiconductor misappropriated the company's trade secrets to illegally obtain patents on technologies related to porous silicon that will support components used in 5G and advanced sensing applications.

IQE stated, "We make these allegations because there is a strong belief that Tower Semiconductor has misappropriated the company’s proprietary trade secrets for its own benefit. Our technology, processes and intellectual property are critical to the products and solutions that support IQE and Maintaining market leadership in advanced semiconductor materials is critical."

IQE, renowned for its development and manufacturing of semiconductor wafer technology, encompasses a range of products, including VCSELs, 3D and infrared image sensors, as well as material technologies such as silicon, IV compounds, rare nitrides, advanced nitrides, photonic quasi-crystals, and crystal rare earth oxides. In an unaudited pre-trading update financial report for the period ending June 30, 2022, IQE projected a revenue of at least £85 million for the first half of the year, representing a 7% increase.

Established in 1993, Tower Semiconductor holds the seventh position globally among wafer production companies, boasting advanced process technology. The company specializes in developing and manufacturing semiconductor technology for diverse applications, including imaging, data communication, automotive, computing, power management, and industrial sensors.