It is all a bit too much for some industry watchers. Despite worries about a coming glut in wafers, the banks are still open-handed. Semiconductors are key components in computers, telecommunications equipment and consumer electronics. Wafer fabricators like SubMicron turn silicon into chips and imprint more than 2,000 identical circuits on each one. IC packagers such as Alphatec Electronics cut the chips into smaller components, bond them to a lead frame, test for quality and sell the finished products to electronics makers.
Memory chips require more precision.
A 16-megabit chip, used in computers, fax machines and printers, can store as much information as 128 newspaper pages. An MBA from North Texas State University, Charn knows the industry well. After expanding the former Signetics IC plant and making it profitable, Charn listed Alphatec Electronics in 1993. Backed by the Wanglees and other investors, including the Boonsong family, which is big in property and trading, Charn scouted for opportunities overseas. With the recently acquired Digital Testing Services, renamed DTS, Alphatec U.S.A. can offer its telecom and electronics clients a more complete service.