INDUSTRY NEWS

Entegris sees major pod sale

A Japanese chipmaker has put in a major order for 300-mm front-opening unified pods (FOUPs) and separate cleaning systems from Entegris, the Minnesota-based vendor announced. The semiconductor manufacturer selected the Entegris F300 AutoPod FOUPs, Class 1 pods with a 25-wafer capacity, and FX30 cleaners for 0.18-µm process use at its fab. The FX30 is designed to prevent contamination on the outside surfaces of a pod from migrating to the inner surfaces, Entegris says. According to the vendor, the order is the first major 300-mm FOUP installation in Japan. Delivery was set to begin in September 2000.

Report: tool take to hit $8.2B

Manufacturers of 300-mm wafer process tools will see nearly an eightfold increase in revenues in 2000 over the previous year, according to a market research firm. In the new report, the Information Network of New Tripoli, PA, forecasts worldwide revenues of $8.2 billion for 300-mm front-end equipment this year, approximately eight times more than in 1999. Titled "300-mm/Copper/Low-k Convergence: Timing, Trends, Issues, Market Analysis," the report notes that at least six semiconductor manufacturers are building fabs that will begin processing 300-mm wafers in 2001. The construction boom is the force behind the major upsurge in spending. Intel, Samsung, TSMC, and UMC are among the chipmakers that expect to process first silicon in 2001, the research firm notes.

Pilot fab installs FEI tools

FEI's Expida series inspection tools for 300-mm wafers have been installed at a pilot facility in Crolles, France. STMicroelectronics and Philips jointly operate the 300-mm fab. The order represents the first installation of the Expida 1265 wafer inspection system for advanced structural diagnostics. The tools will be used to characterize and analyze process excursions and defects. FEI developed the 300-mm platform at its plant in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, in collaboration with the Micro-Electronics Development for European Applications (MEDEA) organization and other European firms. STMicroelectronics will evaluate the DualBeam Expida 1265 within MEDEA guidelines for applications that include TEM sample preparation and characterization of defects invisible to traditional SEMs, FEI says.

Axcelis gets strip nod

A "major electronics manufacturer" has bought five tools from Axcelis Technologies designed for dry photoresist removal in the manufacture of logic devices on 300-mm wafers. The Fusion-ES3 system's low-damage microwave source makes the tools suitable for low-k dielectric and copper processes, the vendor claims. The chipmaker was the fourth customer to purchase the system in 1999.

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