ORDER DESK

Applied ships first 300-mm tool

An unnamed wafer manufacturer received what Applied Materials says is the industry's first 300-mm production wafer process tool. Applied describes the tool as a scaled-up version of its Centura 200-mm rapid thermal processing (RTP) system, which the vendor introduced in June 1995. RTP provides a temperature uniformity well suited for processing 300-mm wafers, the vendor says, noting that pilot production of ICs with 300-mm-compatible tools will likely accelerate in 1998. The company expects volume chip production on 300-mm wafers to begin in 1999.

Tin Man buys tools for cave

Audiocassette duplicator Tin Man Enterprises has purchased several CD-R 10X systems from Fairchild Technologies for installation at its St. Louis plant, which is located in a limestone cavern. The production systems feature proprietary dye coating technology, an integrated controlled environment, and high-speed servomotors. Tin Man is entering the recordable CD market and cites the equipment's dye uniformity as the primary reason for making the multimillion-dollar order. The cavern manufacturing site provides a natural environment for controlling temperature and humidity.

Therma-Wave measures up

Therma-Wave has received an order from Mosel Vitelic for metrology equipment valued at more than $6 million. The purchase includes an Opti-Probe 2600 film-thickness measurement system and a Therma-Probe 500 ion implantation monitoring system. Mosel Vitelic is installing the gear in its $1.5-billion fab in Hsinchu, Taiwan, which is a joint venture with Siemens. Production of 64-Mb DRAMs is set for mid-1997, according to the vendor, adding that the fab will have an initial monthly run of 20,000 wafers. Capacity will be eventually expanded to 40,000 wafers/ month for production of 256-Mb DRAMs.