INDUSTRY NEWS

Dresden fab gets more tools

CFM Technologies will provide a wet processing system to the 300-mm fab operated jointly by Motorola and Siemens in Dresden, Germany. The West Chester, PA—based manufacturer is scheduled to deliver its dual-vessel 300-mm Full-Flow system to the site this spring. Called Semiconductor 300, the Dresden plant will be the first fab to use 300-mm wafers to produce integrated circuits, CFM says.

CFM is completing its test program in cooperation with I300I, Sematech's international 300-mm initiative. "The system purchased by Semiconductor 300 will be the most process-capable system we have ever placed in a fab," says Barry Russell, director of marketing at CFM. "Everything we have learned through the I300I program will be integrated into the product we are shipping to Semiconductor 300."

In related news, Novellus has shipped its 3-Speed CVD system to the Semiconductor 300 fab. The Concept 3 system will be evaluated for advanced applications that require high-quality oxide films for devices that use design rules from 0.25 to 0.18 µm. Novellus chairman and CEO Richard Hill says that this shipment of a 300-mm tool is the vendor's first to a major chip manufacturer. The Dresden fab is expected to purchase additional products in the Concept 3 line, he adds. According to Novellus, the tool, which was tested by Semiconductor 300 engineers before shipping, was expected to be the first 300-mm CVD system delivered to the fab by any tool manufacturer.

Fluoroware sells Voyager shipper

The latest addition to Fluoroware's line of 300-mm products has been purchased by a major silicon wafer supplier, the company says. The Voyager 300-mm wafer shipping system was designed to protect blank silicon wafers as they are transported from wafer suppliers to semiconductor fabs. According to Fluoroware, the unit's compact design reduces cleaning, storage, and shipping costs, and offers overall low cost of ownership. The reusable system requires little time to assemble, disassemble, clean, and dry, the company says. Weldon Smith, vice president and general manager for Fluoroware, said the increased cost to produce 300-mm wafers makes it even more important to protect them from contamination, shock, and vibration during shipping. Citing industry sources, the vendor says wafer suppliers are shipping approximately 22,000 300-mm wafers per month, a figure forecast to increase to 35,000 wafers per month by the end of 1998.

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