INDUSTRY NEWS

World Beat

Asia

TSMC, ASML jump in

TSMC has ordered the first preproduction immersion lithography (IML) system from ASML. Delivery of the tool to the Taiwanese foundry giant is expected during 3Q04. The XT:1250i, a "wet" version of the Dutch lithography company's existing dual-stage, 193-nm-wavelength Twinscan XT:1250 platform, uses immersion fluid applied between the wafer and the lens on the exposure stage to process the image. Both the immersion and "dry" versions of the scanner operate at the 65-nm node with half-pitch resolution at 70 nm. TSMC says that it will use the tool to test and develop immersion technology as a volume manufacturing solution. ASML also has a demonstration/development version of the system available in its R&D center in Veldhoven, The Netherlands. IML has emerged recently as a legitimate lithographic option at the 65-nm technology node and below on the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors.

In other news, ASML and each of the two leading suppliers of photoresist track equipment have signed joint development agreements to develop seamless lithography-cell clustering. Dainippon Screen and Tokyo Electron will work with the exposure tool company to improve the links between the systems within the litho cluster, focusing on improved wafer transfer and productivity, tighter CD controls, enhanced APC/ AEC, and other process improvements. The programs will focus on current and next-generation technologies, including high-NA argon-fluoride (ArF) 193-nm, immersion ArF, and fluoride 157-nm platforms.

NEC, SVA ink FPD deal

NEC and SVA Group, the largest Chinese electronics company, have established a joint venture to build what is being called the first complete TFT-LCD fab in China. The new entity, Shanghai SVA NEC Liquid Crystal Display Co., will focus on the massive Chinese market. The company will plan, develop, and manufacture TFT-LCD panels and modules for TVs, monitors, and PCs. The factory will handle every aspect of the manufacturing, from initial array and cell processes to final production-line phases. Set to begin operations in October 2004, the state-of-the-art, fifth-generation facility will handle a glass base of 45 sheets per month and fabricate devices on large 1100 X 1300-mm substrates. Some 1200 employees will initially staff the complex, which is located in Shanghai's Minhang District.

On the chipmaking front, NEC Electronics has started fitting out one of its Japanese sites to run 300-mm wafers by year's end. The new line will be installed in a 5400-square-meter cleanroom in NEC Yamagata's fab in Tsuruoka City. Company officials say that original plans to outfit the space for 200-mm production were scrapped when assessments showed that, in addition to the economic reasons for switching to the larger wafers, a 300-mm line would have comparable yields to facilities producing smaller substrates. The fab will run at up to 4000 wafers per month, using 130- and 90-nm process technologies.

Meiden, AMAT retool

A strategic relationship between Meidensha (Meiden) and Applied Materials has led to the opening of an equipment remanufacturing, repair, and maintenance service operation in China. Called Shanghai Meiden Semiconductor (SMS), the recently opened center began production in December at its Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone site in the Chinese megalopolis. The new facility is Applied's fourth regional center in its worldwide system-remanufacturing network, joining plants in Japan, France, and Texas, according to David Wang, company executive vp and general manager of its global services group. "By offering new system functionality," adds Wang, "along with warranties and service options, these remanufactured systems are an exceptional value that can be purchased strategically by customers to add incremental fab capacity at cost-effective prices."

KLA-Tencor goes on-line

Saying it's designed to help local customers ramp up production and resolve tool issues more quickly while reducing service costs, KLA-Tencor has opened what it calls the industry's first on-line support center in Japan. Staffed by Japanese-speaking experts, the center is similar to the company's other centers in Taiwan and the United States. The facility uses KLA-Tencor's iSupport secure network, which leverages expert on-site and 24-hour on-line support, and the e-diagnostics capabilities built into every new company tool. "This center will help us to increase the efficiency of our local support team in delivering industry-leading support solutions that enable our Japan-based customers to ramp up their 300-mm processes faster and reach production earlier," says Motohiko Tahara, president of KLA-Tencor Japan.

BOC scores big in China

A new fab near Shanghai will feature an integrated suite of materials and materials-delivery systems from BOC Edwards. The supplier says it will provide all bulk gases, bulk- and specialty-gas distribution systems, and chemical and slurry management systems, in addition to complete design, engineering, installation, start-up, and commissioning services. More than 30 chemical and slurry systems will be installed, as well as more than 50 specialty-gas systems, according to BOC. A bulk-gas pad will include a UHP nitrogen generator, and storage, distribution, and purification will also be provided for hydrogen, argon, helium, oxygen, and nitrogen gases.

"Chip manufacturers want a single source of supply from conception through to operations, backed by a comprehensive range of materials and services in order to maintain the lowest possible costs," asserts Raj Rajagopal, CEO of BOC Edwards. "Our investment in a stronger infrastructure in China to support that demand has resulted in the award of several contracts and new equipment orders in the region."

Europe

AMD chooses Dresden, again

Citing financial incentives from German government agencies, AMD has decided to build its first 300-mm facility near its Fab 30 complex in Dresden. The company broke ground on Fab 36 in late November and says it expects the building to be completed within a year, with initial production capacity of 13,000 wafer starts per month scheduled by 2006. AMD CFO Bob Rivet noted that of the $2.4 billion the fab is expected to cost, government support and external financing account for $1.5 billion, with the rest coming out of AMD's and other potential partners' pockets.

The company plans to install the first toolsets before the end of the year, according to president and CEO Hector Ruiz. "We expect to start running some engineering wafers some time late in the first half of 2005...and qualification of that product [65-nm microprocessors] to [also] occur in the first half of 2005," Ruiz told a press and analyst briefing. Acknowledging the possibility of sharing manufacturing capacity at the fab or other collaborative arrangements, he also said that AMD has "discussions under way with several potential partners in one form or another."