 INDUSTRY
NEWS
300-mm Imperative
IBM
opens advanced fab
Unveiled
on August 1, IBM's new 300-mm fab in East Fishkill, NY, is the chipmaker's
most advanced plant. The manufacturer says the $2.5 billion factory will
use technologies such as copper, SOI, and low-k dielectrics to make semiconductors
with geometries 100 nm and smaller. Because the fab houses both development
and manufacturing capabilities, IBM says the plant will facilitate the
transfer of the technologies for high-volume production. Production is
on schedule and set to begin before the end of 2002.
The
140,000-sq-ft plant has 200 miles of piping, 600 miles of cable and wiring,
and 2 million lb of ductwork, IBM boasts. Big Blue also points out that
the site has more processing power than NASA needs to launch the Space
Shuttle, including 1700 microprocessors running at speeds greater than
1 GHz each.
George
Pataki, the governor of New York, joined Sam Palmisano, IBM's president
and CEO, at the opening. Pataki said IBM's huge investment in East Fishkill
reinforces the importance of the Hudson Valley and upstate New York area
in high-tech research and economic development. Palmisano said IBM is
"reinvigorating" its microelectronics business. The chipmaker notes the
fab will play a major role in its continuing collaboration with the state
and major New York universities.
Consortium
buys SEZ systems
The
SEZ Group has received a multimillion-dollar order for spin processors
from a European 300-mm consortium. The Model 304 systems will be used
for backside film removal and decontamination such as bevel clean. The
order is the first for SEZ from the consortium. The single-wafer 304 spin
processor combines front- and backside etching, stripping, cleaning, and
wafer reclaim. The tool has an optional endpoint-detection system for
improved process control.
Selete
buys Axcelis tool
Selete
has ordered several RTP systems from Axcelis Technologies in Beverly,
MA, for use in 300-mm research. The 13-member Japanese R&D consortium
purchased multiple Summit 300XT tools for use at its development facility
in Tsukuda, Japan. Researchers will explore ultrashallow junction formation,
steam oxidation, and low-temperature silicide formation. Introduced in
2001, the Summit system features hot-wall technology and advanced temperature
control for uniformity and repeatability, Axcelis says.
Board
okays fab funds
TSMC's
board of directors approved the release of approximately $502 million
for building the foundry's Fab 12 plant. The Taiwan-based chipmaker will
use the money to ramp up capacity for Phase I 90-nm copper processes at
the 300-mm fab, located in the Science-Based Industrial Park, Hsinchu.
The board also approved additional funds for installation of equipment
for Phase II operations at the site. Fab 12 is TSMC's second complete
300-mm plant. In further action, the board established an audit committee
to oversee corporate governance. Financial statements released by TSMC
for the first half of 2002 show a net income of $468 million on net sales
of $2.3 billion.
New
Vision sells APC software
New
Vision Systems of Cambridge, MA, has sold a software package for lithography
process control to a major U.S. chipmaker, the company announced. Destined
for the customer's 300-mm fab, the Argus APC software was used intially
in a 200-mm fab operated by the chipmaker, New Vision says. The software
monitors lithographic processes in real time.
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