INDUSTRY NEWS

EXPANSIONS AND ACQUISITIONS

GaSonics grows plant, moves HQ

Responding to increased demand for its line of photoresist and residue removal equipment, GaSonics International has enlarged its manufacturing plant in San Jose by 50%. The company has also moved its corporate headquarters to another location within the city, but it will continue to occupy its 90,000-sq-ft facility on Junction Avenue in San Jose. GaSonics has added a training center, upgraded the cleanrooms, and improved the demonstration lab at the site. The move adds 28,000 sq ft to support the firm's nonmanufacturing operations, including finance, marketing, sales, and technical support. The move will be completed in the fourth quarter of 2000.

DPI installs new mask lines

DuPont Photomasks (DPI) has begun mask production on three new lines the manufacturer recently installed. DPI says it invested $50 million in the lines, which are located in Round Rock, TX; Corbeil-Essones, France; and Hsinchu, Taiwan. They use Alta 3700 laser pattern generation systems to produce photomasks for the fabrication of chips with geometries ¾0.18 µm. The Alta tools, which are made by Etec Systems (a subsidiary of Applied Materials), write advanced phase-shift and optical correction masks.

Air Liquide opens oxygen site

Air Liquide Electronics has opened a plant that will enable the company to double production of ultrapure oxygen. Situated in Cleburne, TX, the site will produce the company's line of UltraOx gas containing 99.99999% oxygen with nitrogen at 10-ppb levels. Demand for the UltraOx gas has risen significantly, Air Liquide says. A primary use is growth of silicon oxide. The product is also used to prevent silicon nitride and other contaminants from forming on wafers in the presence of nitrogen.

Air Liquide also announced that Texas Instruments has hired the materials provider to oversee all gas and chemical services at TI's DMOS VI 300-mm fab. The Dallas factory is scheduled to begin production in 2001. The outsourcing contract covers supply-chain management, equipment operations, maintenance, analytical services, and waste management.

IPA distillation unit installed

The electronic chemicals group of General Chemical has installed a $3-million distillation unit at its plant in Hollister, CA, that will be used primarily for producing ultrapure IPA. Production was scheduled to start by the end of September 2000. The facility will be able to distill IPA with metallic levels between 1 and 10 ppt, according to the vendor. IPA distilled in the automated unit will be sent through hard pipes to a cleanroom drum-filling area and automated packaging line, the vendor says. The company plans to upgrade the packaging area to cleanroom standards by year-end. The business unit also plans to improve its solvent operations as well as its filling line for canisters, drums, and bottles. In related news, General Chemical moved the management team for its electronic chemicals group from Pittsburg, CA, to Hollister.

Corning ups CaF^₂ production

Corning plans to expand capacity at its operations in North Brookfield, MA, to meet increasing demand for calcium fluoride (CaF^₂) optics. The company, based in the New York town that shares its name, says customers are clamoring for more CaF^₂ to use in next-generation optical lithography. The Massachusetts plant makes CaF^₂ optics and components for excimer laser manufacturers. Corning will concentrate primarily on making lithography-grade CaF^₂ optics for deep-UV use. The compound is an important component in enabling chipmakers to shrink linewidths, Corning points out. The manufacturer wants to complete the production upgrade by the end of this year for a ramp-up in early 2001.

Photronics increases stake

Photronics of Jupiter, FL, has taken a majority stake in Precision Semiconductor Mask, a Taiwanese photomask supplier. Photronics increased its investment in Precision from 33 to 51% by issuing new common shares in the Asian supplier. The American firm's total investment in the company stands at $60 million. Photronics opened its first mask facility in Singapore in 1996. Precision says the two facilities will work together to meet demand from the region's growing foundry services for subwavelength reticles. Precision has phase-shift capabilities that complement Photronics's ability to provide advanced binary and optical-proximity-correction technology, according to the parent company.

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