China's gains in the semiconductor market could cause pains for other chip-manufacturing countries in Asia, asserts an industry analyst in a new report. Robert Castellano, president of The Information Network, notes that China received more than 75% of foreign direct investment sent to Asian countries in 2001. In 1990, the country received slightly less than 50% of such funds. The combination of foreign investment, low-cost labor, and a huge domestic market has "created a powerful export market for mainland China that will impact the region's semiconductor economies," Castellano says in the report.

China should see low-double-digit growth in the semiconductor, PC, software, and mobile markets, Castellano says. Some of that growth will come at the expense of other countries in the region, he insists. For example, he says that South Korea's 47% share of the global DRAM market is in jeopardy. He suggests that Korean memory producers shift rapidly to nonmemory products.

Malaysia lags behind other Asian countries in R&D spending, and Singapore has eased regulations in order to facilitate the growth of start-ups. Meanwhile, Japanese IC manufacturers have decreased their capital spending by 8% to an average of 19% of their sales, and have turned to Taiwanese outsourcing. Taiwan itself has plans to expand its semiconductor industry from $22 billion annually to $45 billion by 2006 in order to combat China's growth, Castellano asserts.

On the positive side, the long-term effect of China's growth will be to create more export markets throughout Asia, he says. However, Castellano cites U.S. intelligence reports that "point to potential trouble" for businesses and governments doing business with China. Among the concerns are military threats against Taiwan, improvements in China's nuclear deterrence capabilities, and the discovery that China had shipped surface-to-air missiles to the Taliban after al-Qaeda's attacks on the United States.

Castellano's report is titled Asia's Microelectronics Market: China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan.

E-beam trio teams up

Three Japanese equipment manufacturers have established a company with plans to develop a low-energy electron-beam direct-writing system. Tentatively named E-Beam Corp., the $3-million joint venture founded by TEL, Ebara, and Dainippon Screen Manufacturing will explore direct-writing technology developed by Toshiba. Their goal is to ship a system capable of 65-nm resolution by 2005.

The companies hope to manufacture a maskless lithography system that will offer chipmakers high throughput and short lead times. The partners say the system's low-energy E-beam technology can counteract proximity effects. In addition, the tool's character projection method is capable of consistently repeatable pattern writing.

E-Beam Corp. will be based in Tokyo. TEL, the world's second-largest manufacturer of process equipment, has a 40% stake in the venture. Ebara, a maker of CMP tools, pumps, and related fluid-transfer equipment, also has invested 40%. Dainippon, a leading manufacturer of wafer-cleaning systems, holds the remaining 20% stake in the company.

Selete endorses Oasis

Selete, the Japanese research consortium, has endorsed a new format designed to improve the transfer of data from IC design through inspection processes. Called Oasis, the data stream format replaces SEMI's GDSII. The proposed standard improves the ability to handle 64-bit design data and data compaction capability at a rate 10 to 50 times greater than GDSII, according to SEMI's Data Path Task Force. The task force comprises more than 70 persons and nearly 30 companies and consortia involved in IC design, automation, photomask manufacturing, photomask pattern generation, and mask inspection. To be accepted as a standard, Oasis must be approved by the SEMI Worldwide Microlithography Committee.

Europe

Soitec improves SOI capability

The world's leading manufacturer of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers and one of Europe's largest microelectronics research labs have extended their R&D partnership. Soitec and the Laboratoire d'Électronique de Technologies et d'Instrumentation (LETI) in Grenoble, France, have enhanced a partnership involving Smart Cut technology. Called Scealab, the extended collaboration gives Soitec exclusive rights to intellectual property related to LETI's Smart Cut technology for uses beyond silicon and SOI substrates. The partnership also gives Soitec full rights to sublicense the technology.

The partners will conduct all Scealab research and development at LETI facilities and at Soitec's new R&D facility in Bernin, France. The facility is the first of its kind dedicated to research and development for advanced substrate materials, according to Soitec. The R&D site is adjacent to the company's new Bernin II production plant, which opened September 24. The company says the Bernin II factory will increase its production capacity to more than 2 million 200-mm-equivalent SOI substrates per month. The manufacturer, which holds more than 80% of the global SOI market, notes that it is ramping 300-mm production at the site.