INDUSTRY NEWS

EXPANSIONS AND ACQUISITIONS

IBM drops $5B bombshell

The largest capital investment scheme in IBM's history includes plans to build the most technologically advanced fab in the world, the company announced. IBM says the $2.5-billion plant in East Fishkill, NY, will combine for the first time manufacturing advancements such as copper interconnect, SOI technology, and low-k dielectric insulation on 300-mm wafers. The chipmaker also plans to become possibly the first manufacturer to produce devices with sub-0.10-µm geometries. The plant will begin operating in the second half of 2002; full production is scheduled for early 2003. Approximately 1000 new jobs will be offered. The capital investment plan includes an expansion of semiconductor manufacturing capacity at IBM fabs in Burlington, VT, and Yasu, Japan. A joint venture between IBM and Infineon in Corbeil-Essones, France, also will benefit.

Parts cleaning plant opens

Pentagon Technologies opened its newest semiconductor parts cleaning and reconditioning plant in Portland, OR. The Pacific Northwest semiconductor parts services operation is the fifth such facility for the Fremont, CA­based firm. The other sites are in Hayward, CA; Austin, TX; East Fishkill, NY; and Menlo Park, CA. Full operations of the 30,000-sq-ft plant are scheduled for May. The facility will focus on reconditioning equipment parts and assemblies used for sub-0.18-µm geometries and copper interconnect processing on 200- and 300-mm wafers. The company says the new plant will use defect reduction techniques such as twin wire arc spraying and surface particle detection.

Motion tool vendor bought

San Diego­based Cymer, a maker of excimer lasers, will acquire a manufacturer of adaptive precision motion diagnostics and control tools. Cymer says the acquisition of ACX will enable the California firm to design solutions for stability and control problems in advanced semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Cymer's lasers are used for deep-UV photolithography systems. The company says ACX's technology can be embedded to create so-called smart structures that improve equipment stability and motion control. Based in Cambridge, MA, ACX was established in 1992 with technology developed at MIT's control theory labs. ACX's founders are Ken Lazarus and Edward Crawley. Once the transaction closes in early 2001, the company will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Cymer.

Client demand prompts move

Yield Dynamics says demand for its services has spurred a move to larger corporate headquarters. The supplier of yield management software and process control products moved to a site in Santa Clara, CA, that is more than double the size of its previous headquarters. The company has two primary products. Its Genesis line addresses yield management. The MAPA line is a process control system.

NuTool has bigger digs

A firm specializing in copper process equipment has finished enlarging its plant in Milpitas, CA. NuTool says most of the expansion occurred in the manufacturing area. The increase makes the facility more than 15,000 sq ft in size. The extra capacity will enable NuTool to meet production goals of five systems per quarter in a single-shift, five-workday operation, the company says. Fully staffed with two shifts, it will be able to manufacture 20 systems per quarter. The supplier makes process technology that deposits and planarizes copper in one step. The founder and head is Homayoun Talieh, a former senior manager at Applied Materials.

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