WORLD BEAT

Asia

Anam fills first fab

Sparing no expense in equipping its first fab, Anam Industrial recently placed more than $133 million in orders for process tools from three American vendors. The Seoul-based chip packaging company purchased deposition, etch, and implant systems worth a total of approximately $105 million from Applied Materials, CVD systems valued at more than $18 million from Watkins-Johnson, and $10 million in chemical distribution equipment from FSI International. Anam is installing the gear at its ASIC facility in Buchon. Phased installation will take place through November for all equipment. According to Applied, Anam has scheduled initial production to begin in June. The fab will have a capacity of 25,000 wafer starts per month.

Fluoroware starts venture

Fluoroware of Chaska, MN, has teamed up with two Asian firms to jointly manufacture materials-handling products for the booming South Korean chip market. Fluoroware will own 30% of the venture--F.J.V. Korean--while its partners, Nippon Valqua Industries and JeIl Chemical Co., will own 30% and 40%, respectively. The American vendor will manufacture wafer carriers made of PEEK and other materials in addition to other materials-handling products at JeIl's 18,000-sq-ft plant in Yongsan. Nippon Valqua will manufacture PTFE- and PFA-lined tanks at the facility. Valqua has a 20% stake in JeIl, which makes PTFE gaskets and compression-molded products for the chemical industry. Valqua has been Fluoroware's Japanese licensing partner since 1978 and will take primary responsibility for manufacturing operations at the new plant.

Lam opens customer center

Lam Research has opened a 13,200-sq-ft customer center with a Class 100 cleanroom in Sagamihira, Japan. The center will give Lam engineers and the company's clients the opportunity to qualify the vendor's etch and deposition equipment prior to shipping.

Sverdrup tapped for water

Sverdrup Civil of Maryland Heights, MO, has been tapped by Holtek Microelectronics to design and build a high-purity water system for Holtek's fab in Hsinchu, Taiwan. Sverdrup will open an office in Taipei to support the project, which also calls for the contractor to install interconnect piping. The system, which will cost $9.5 million to build, will supply ultrapure and DI water at a rate of 1700 gal/min.

ProMos likes Applied, Asyst

ProMos Semiconductor has purchased etch, deposition, and RTP systems worth $105 million from Applied Materials and more than $6 million worth of minienvironments and automation systems from Asyst Technologies. The gear will be installed at the joint venture's 64-Mb DRAM fab in Hsinchu, Taiwan. The venture's partners are Siemens and Mosel-Vitelic. The fab will reach a monthly output of 50,000 wafers within the next five years, according to Asyst.

TSMC getting PRI tools

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (TSMC) has bought pod stockers, reticle stockers, and other automation gear from PRI Automation in Billerica, MA. The equipment will be installed in TSMC's Fab V, which is being built in Hsinchu. The fab will process 30,000 8-in. wafers per month. According to PRI, the facility will be the first fab on the island to feature a stacked design of two three-story cleanrooms to save land area.