MICRO: 'Round the Circuit

Claiming a potential breakthrough in nanoscience, researchers for NIST and Hewlett-Packard say they have measured the capacitance-voltage of a molecular device. The joint development represents a closer step toward a reliable method for measuring the electrical behavior of the devices. Taken by researchers working at separate facilities, the measurements helped to confirm that the device acted like a switch by alternating between different currents at different input voltages, NIST says.

For testing, each research team used a crossbar test structure made of a monolayer placed between a series of perpendicular metal wires. The separate electrical measurements were almost identical, NIST says. The results mean that the molecular electronic devices were unaffected by the experimental set-up, according to the scientists.

Researchers at NIST and H-P noted an enigma in the results, the institute points out in a joint paper presented April 2 at the Gomactech Conference in Tampa, FL. The presence of the monolayer contributes to the "two-state" system, but it is not the only cause, they say. The device acts like a switch most likely because of the interaction of the interface between molecule and wire electrode.

Water market to surge

Growth in the pharmaceutical and coal-fired power industries will compensate for a drought in ultrapure water sales caused by the semiconductor industry downturn. The McIlvaine Co., a market research firm based in Northfield, IL, says that the chip industry's misfortunes forced a 20% overall drop in the market for ultrapure water systems between 2000 and 2001. By 2004, sales growth in the pharmaceutical and power segments will propel the market to $2 billion in sales, its peak in 2000. The information is contained in a new report from McIlvaine titled Ultrapure Water: World Markets.

The market for systems and materials is forecast to reach $2.2 billion in 2004, $2.4 billion in 2005, and $2.8 billion in 2006. In that year, a recovery in the semiconductor industry, growth in FPDs, and full-scale production of nanotech devices will spur growth of ultrapure water systems, according to the report. The research firm notes that chipmakers accounted for more than 50% of the total revenues in 2000, a figure that dropped to 40% in the past two years.

The Far East is the fastest-growing region for this segment, McIlvaine says. In 2003, sales of ultrapure-water hardware in China, Taiwan, and South Korea will outpace those of Japan, formerly a larger market than the rest of Asia combined. The United States will remain the largest market for systems used in the semiconductor and pharmaceutical industries, but the country has fallen far behind in the FPD segment. Information: www.mcilvainecompany.com.

Applied elects Splinter

Michael Splinter has been elected CEO and president of Applied Materials, the world's largest manufacturer of semiconductor equipment, by the company's board of directors. Splinter succeeds James Morgan as CEO and Dan Maydan as president. Morgan will stay on as chairman of the board, and Maydan will become president emeritus and remain as a board member. The transition took effect immediately following the announcement on April 30.

Splinter joined Applied Materials after spending nearly 20 years at Intel, where he most recently served as executive vice president and director of the sales and marketing group. A native of Wisconsin, he earned his BS and MS degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Morgan led Applied for 27 years. He was instrumental in building the company to the level of success it has reached. Morgan received the U.S. National Medal of Technology in 1996. Maydan, who joined Applied in 1980, is the codeveloper of the company's Precision 5000 system, the first chip-manufacturing tool in the Smithsonian Institution's collection of breakthrough technologies.

(An interview with Splinter, when he ran Intel's technology and manufacturing group, appeared in the March 2000 issue of MICRO. Read it at www.micromagazine.com/archive/00/03/microinterview.)

ASMC seeking '04 papers

Organizers of the 2004 Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Conference (ASMC) are seeking technical papers on yield enhancement, metrology, 300-mm manufacturing, factory automation, and a range of related topics. ESH, equipment reliability, equipment productivity, factory dynamics, MEMS technology, contamination-free manufacturing, and photolithography challenges are among the other subjects. SEMI; IEEE Electron Devices Society; and IEEE Components, Packaging, and Manufacturing Technology Society are sponsoring the 15th annual event, set to take place May 4–6, 2004, in Boston.

The sponsors are looking for abstracts of no more than 1000 words in MS Word or .pdf formats, with one page for figures, if necessary. Title, author or authors, company affiliations, contact information, and five key words describing the paper are also required. The deadline for abstracts is September 18, 2003. Organizers will notify the authors of acceptance in early November. Final manuscripts are due by February 19, 2004. Abstracts may be sent to Margaret Kindling at mkindling@semi.org.