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 INDUSTRY
NEWS
World Beat
Asia
Firms to merge wafer biz
Sumitomo Metal Industries and Mitsubishi Materials have agreed to combine
their silicon wafer operations in January 2002. Each company will have
a 50% stake in the venture, which they'll name at a later date. The consolidation
plans are expected to cover 300-mm wafers and all wafer-related quartz
products. The Japanese firms say their decision was driven by increasingly
stringent customer requirements for price and quality as well as a desire
to strengthen their mutual positions in the industry. Reijiro Mori, advisor
to the president and director of Sumitomo Metal, is expected to be named
president of the new company. Minoru Mizukoshi, chairman of Mitsubishi
Materials, will be named vice president. Sumitomo and Mitsubishi set up
a joint venture in March 1999 to manufacture 300-mm wafers. A business
they established in July 1999, Silicon United Manufacturing, has begun
construction of an integrated 300-mm wafer plant. Production is scheduled
to begin this fall at the fab.
Chinese foundry buys tools
A new foundry in China has bought process equipment from several
Axcelis Technologies product lines, the vendor reports. Semiconductor
Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) purchased ion implant, photostabilization,
and photoresist dry strip tools worth several million dollars for installation
at its Fab 1 in Shanghai. Initial shipments are scheduled for August
2001. SMIC has named the Beverly, MA–based equipment manufacturer
a supplier of choice, the company says.
Boxer Cross, a manufacturer of metrology equipment, has signed
partnership agreements with two Asian firms. The supplier also received
what it calls a "significant" order from a 300-mm fab operated by a
Taiwanese chipmaker. Boxer Cross has expanded its presence in Asia by
teaming with AP Tech in South Korea and Hermes-Epitek in Singapore.
AP Tech is the exclusive Korean representative of FEI's focus ion beam
systems. Hermes-Epitek is the Southeast Asia distributor of equipment
by TEL, Ebara, and ASML. Boxer Cross says its in-line metrology tools
for ultrashallow junction doping and copper interconnects reduces feedback
cycles and the use of test wafers.
Middle East
Tower reaches fab milestone
Tower Semiconductor recently began construction of the shell
for Fab 2, putting the foundry project ahead of schedule. Located
in Migdal Haemek, Israel, the fab is adjacent to Tower's current plant.
Fab 2 will produce up to 33,000 200-mm wafers per month for chips
with geometries of 0.18 µm and below. Tower will use CMOS process
technology transferred from Toshiba. The start of shell construction
has enabled Tower to proceed with technology transfer, tool procurement,
and recruitment for the fab, which will employ approximately 1000.
The next disbursement from the $305 million in project construction
funds was scheduled for no later than May.
Europe
Italian plant produces stripper
Ashland Specialty Chemical has inaugurated European production
of its ACT photoresist stripper at a plant in Milan. The Ohio-based
supplier had been shipping the chemical to European customers from plants
in the United States. The company's electronic chemicals division is
manufacturing ACT stripper and etch residue remover products at the
Ashland Italia facility. The company plans to introduce ACT CMI strippers,
ACT 970 strippers, and several other products in Europe later in 2001.
Austria Mikro Systeme International (AMS) has selected Brooks
Automation to supply all automated wafer-handling equipment at its new
ASIC fab. The 200-mm plant is in Unterpremstaetten. The multimillion-dollar
order includes SMIF robots, minienvironments, wafer sorters, automatic
lot identification systems, and WIP tracking. AMS said that Brooks's
customer support capability was a deciding factor, according to the
vendor.
Applied Materials has made its on-line support program available
to customers in Europe. The SparesSolutions program allows customers
to use the Internet to order spare parts for Applied's process gear.
The service shortens parts ordering and delivery times through a secure
Web site. Purchasing options include highest-priority ordering and direct
order entry of part numbers as well as pricing and availability. Clients
can use the service to check order status and to create customized lists
for repeat orders. Applied says it has an installed base of more than
1600 systems in Europe. The company's Web site is address is http://www.appliedmaterials.com.
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© 2007 Tom Cheyney
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