Back Issues of MICRO magazine

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November/December 1997 | October 1997 | September 1997 | July/August 1997
June 1997 | May 1997 | April 1997 | March 1997 | February 1997 | January 1997

November/December 1997 - Selected Contents

• 2020 vision

• Lead Story: Big changes needed to satisfy cleanroom, boardroom, exec says
• Lefty: Behave yourselves
• Semicon Taiwan '97: Show's explosive growth mirrors IC industry expansion on island
• Expansions and Acquisitions: MEMC chooses McCarthy for 300-mm line; Air Products, BOC split bill on new plant; ASML to more AZ site; Parker Alabama facility opens
• Order Desk: Planar chooses YieldUP; ASML sells deep-UV unit for Applied minifab; W-J CVD tool going to UMC; CFM scores Taiwanese order; MR head maker likes Veeco; Moto goes for Electroglas probers
• Round the Circuit: Applied plasma clean process KO's PFCs; USDC aligns with Elsicon; IES becomes IEST; updated EE text published
• What's Going On: IEDM, ISS 98, FID, 3C '98, and more

• Products: The reader's have spoken again with this year's top-drawing items from our Product Technology News section. The 1997 winners range from CMP cluster tools to cleanroom clogs, MEMS MFCs to molecular analyzers, lithography filters to liquid-level sensors

• Movin' On: Cutini heads OnTrak; Kern joins YieldUP board; Miller enters Millennium; Vitesse promotes Mikkelson; Duffin takes ESH slot at Sematech

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October 1997 - Selected Contents

• Taiwan opens the door

• Lead Story: Foreign chip industries apply themselves to eclipsing U.S.
• Lefty: Run pure, run free
• Sematech Watch:Deposition breakthrough brings consortium to dawn of the Copper Age
• World Beat: Europe: Flanders flips for chips; Triant inks software pact; Air Liquide signs contract with AMD; ASM furnaces going to Newport; Nanometrics opens Silicon Glen office
  Asia: AutoSimulations opens in Singapore; Laporte selects Taiwan for wafer reclaim plant; Asyst scores Holtek order; Samsung, Hyundai repeat themselves with Tegal
• Expansions and Acquisitions: PRI readies 300-mm tool demo center; Phototronics to break ground on 12th plant; HVE buys PHI; Osram expands NH quartz site; CFM to move HQ; BOC, Eco-Snow warm up tp collaboration; General Chemical begins production of sulfuric acid; G&K opens Dallas laundry; Ashland to buy Moyco's CMP assets
• Order Desk: Air Products, GaSonics, SpeedFam see White Oak dollars; Electroglas has Dominion; Beta Squared sells plasma etch systems; 25 SVG steppers set for delivery; Olin to service Hyundai, SGS; four fabs cleave to SELA; Commonwealth claims ion-beam advance; LSI Logic likes Aera's MFC's; Sipex picks Concept tool; Lam gets Nan Ya order; Selete buys AG RTP
• Round the Circuit: Matheson minimizes fire damage; SEMI enters Smithsonian; IPEC claims CMP breakthrough; Symbios to close fab; Motorola plant receives green award
• What's Going On: AVS, Semicon Japan, and more
• ISO Update: The latest ISO 9000-series certifications

• Special Report: Advanced microelectronics industries thrive in Twin Cities region

• ANALYTICAL TECHNOLOGIES: Measuring trace ionic impurities in ultrapure acids and bases with ion chromatography.
• SURFACE CLEANLINESS: Comparing cleanroom wipers with a dry abrasion resistance test.
• TECH FOCUS-300mm: Using strategic planning to prepare for 300-mm fab construction.
• MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES: Using an automated cleanroom monitoring system to maximize contamination control.

• Products: Scanning probe microscope, ionic contaminant analyzer, 300-mm wafer marker, machine vision software, gas filters, CFC-free cleaning solvent, etch bath filter, 300-mm isolation tools, megasonic cleaner, sampling valve, DI-water heater, mobile cleanroom cabinet, wafer handler, TOC analyzer, and more
• Product Extra! Automated classification tool helps engineers solve defect problems; guide to seals covers requirements; O-rings, physical properties of elastomers, and more; planarization technology receives five patents; liquefier for backup UHP liquid nitrogen offered
• Pick of the Literature: Catalogs, brochures, and more

• Movin' On: IPEC picks McDaniel; Younger succeeds Greed at SEMI; Isago Lam; Hightower joins SVG

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September 1997 - Selected Contents

• The big dog barks

• Lead Story: Consortia announce historic accord on 300-mm guideline
• Lefty: A capital idea
• Breakout: Diskcon 97: Industry drives toward final approval of first microcontamination standards
• Breakout: New program to use team-based approach for solving labor shortage
• World Beat: Europe: Jenoptik to automate SGC-Thompson fab; Rippey to open Irish facility; Ashland upgrades Milan plant; Dupont boosts silica capacity; Phototronics buys German mask firm
  Asia: Empak builds Malaysian plant; Lepco debuts Manila office; MRC touts new spares plan
• Expansions and Acquisitions: Applied's $430M plan includes process development minifab; Parker buys SAES Pure Gas; National expands Santa Clara site; FSI opens slurry lab; Eaton expands thermal biz; AlliedSignal AMM moves HQ; MGN opens new HQ; Pall signs pacts with Unit, Matheson; BOC purchases Systems Chemistry; Solvay has start-up hiccup; AMCC builds new fab; MEMC invests $250M in 300 mm
• Order Desk: Selete is hot on WWK's Cool; Micron buys ASML steppers; Vitesse goes for GaSonics tools; PRI sees Japan breakthrough; headmaker buys Veeco PVD tool; CFM Tech takes $4M order
• What's Going On: Semicon Taiwan, EOS/ESD, and more
• Round the Circuit: Metrology advanced studied; ESD okays draft standards; air filter RP published; Ohmi to address AVS session; Rippey seeks cleaning partners; IC technology primer explains all

• ULTRAPURE FLUIDS: Determining critical trace elements in high-purity phosphoric acid.
• CLEANROOM TECHNOLOGIES: Analyzing, correcting stepper system vibration: A case study.
• TECH FOCUS — CMP: Monitoring slurry stability to reduce process variability.

• Products: MEMS mass-flow controller, boat-measurement tool, stripper, conveyor system, digital flowmeter, gas detector, digital microscope camera, dry pump, poliching slurry, DO sensor, PVC tubing, vacuum-measurement system, clean connect box, and more
• Pick of the Literature: Brochures, tech bulletins, and the like
• Product Extra! CMP polishing head features even planarization; English/metric converter slide rule offered; surface tension gradient patents awarded; chemical management capital lease program debuts; contract excimer-laser patterning systems available

• Movin' On: Yoshida takes reins at Nikon Precision; MRC unit promotes Barry; Levy, McDaniel join Trikon board; Genus names Aldeborgh COO; Romm new money man at Verteq

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July/August 1997 - Selected Contents

• A tale of two sites

• Lead Story: MICRO Exclusive: The Tech museum gets ready for a high-tech barn raising
• Lefty: Put a sock on it
• Breakout: Novellus strengthens deposition position with purchase of Varian PVD business
• On Display: Dow nabs breakthrough deal; Tegal takes Japanese orders
• Expansions and Acquisitions: Flouroware, Daifuku uveil 300-mm pod; Hoechst AZ to expand; Veeco buys media unit; ATMI swaps stock for Lawrence Semi; MGC doubles HP output; Photronics to test photomask tool; Asahi buys Universal Flow Monitors division
• Semicon West 97: Semicon West 97 standards schedule
• Order Desk: TSMC makes record tool order with Applied; Sematech taps CVC Products; AG Associates gets multimillion-dollar RTP booking
• What's Going On:STM '97, Diskcon, and more
• World Beat: Asia: BOC extends helium pact with Japanese group; SpeedFam opens Japanese center; Tosoh SMD launches Taiwan unit; TASS debuts in Taiwan Europe: Soitec begins construction of new facility
• Round the Circuit: Ashland, IMEC extend R&D pact; MRS publishes defects book; MEMC, IPEC propose CMP deal; survey says Europeans satisfy customers; UMC names Varian top vendor; Sandia team puts protons in DRAMs, makes them NVMs

• Viewpoint: Meeting the wafer-handling challenges of the brave new world of fully automated fabs

• Facility Report: Transferring technology to industrial partners at LETI's Grenoble Center

• PROCESS CLEANLINESS: Improving tungsten CVD performance with in situ particle monitoring.
• ULTRAPURE GASES: Beta testing an in-line monitor for moisture measurement in inert gas lines.
• ULTRAPURE FLUIDS: Evaluating reusable HDPE containers for delivery of high-purity hydrofluoric acid.

• Products: 300-mm process platform, CMP cluster tool, fittings clamp, filter cartridge housing, wafer cassette, membrane contractor, pressure transducer, sputtering shield kit, CMP filter assemblies, and more
• Pick of the Literature: Guides, brochures, and the like
• Product Extra! Modular vertical furnace enhanced; 24-hour fax service aids customers; filter replacement cartridge improved; gas analyzer's application range broadened; vertical thermal reactors carry CE mark
• Products in Action: Acoustic sensor improves hazardous gas monitoring in Cypress's Round Rock facility
• Product Spotlight: Analytical equipment

• Movin' On: Scalise leads SIA; SEMI honors Betz, Huber, Fairchild woos Rust

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June 1997 - Selected Contents

• Surviving Semicon

• Lead Story: MEMS industry gearing up for multibillion-dollar future
• Lefty: Ions ago
• Breakout 1: SEMI's new division to address world of environmental concerns
• Breakout 2: Motorola testing novel cleaning tool
• World Beat: Europe: Continental tool group formed; Photronics keeps on growing; Laporte renovates two plants; Siemens uses Eaton implanter; Tefen designs MEMS fab; Nikon Precision builds Scottish center. Asia: Rippey starts up Singapore site; Chartered Silicon Partners foundry planned
• Round the Circuit: Wet resist program begins; implantation method researched; White Knight nabs Plunkett prize; SEMI touts trade mission; U.S. leads cleanroom products spending
• Expansions and Acquisitions: Air Products increases gas output; BOC to build Oregon plant; ATMI buys ADCS; Cybeq Nano moves to new plant; Aera adds space; Glegg grows in Guelph; Shin-Etsu, Soitec ink pact; FSI opens microlithography site; goodbye PMT, hello Trikon
• ISO Update: The latest 9000-series certifications
• Order Desk: TSMC loads in Asyst tools; Tech Semi buys Tencor AIT; Burr-Brown installs ASML stepper; Electroglas sells probers; SELA takes first U.S. orders; ProMOS buys software
• What's Going On: Fineprocess Technology Japan, STM conference, and more

• SURFACE CLEANLINESS: Reducing defect density using an optimized wafer scrubber.
• ANALYTICAL TECHNOLOGIES: Measuring anions and ammonium in bases and acids with ion chromatography.
• TECH FOCUS-300mm: Evaluating 300-mm fab automation technology options and selection criteria.
• EQUIPMENT MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES: Monitoring residual and process gases in PVD processess: The importance of sensitivity.

• Products: Defect-review tool, x-y stage, quartzware cleaner, fluoropolymer assemblies, water pumps, process control software, laser stepper, tube meter, pattern-recognition software, wafer inspection tools, and more
• Pick of the Literature: Brochures, catalogs, newsletters, and the like
• Product Extra! Rent-a-chem program lessens chipmaker regulatory load; spares management plan keeps tabs on inventories; plasma-etch patents awarded; RO system design software offered; i-line stepper suits sensible shoppers

• Technical Programs
• San Francisco Exhibit Halls and Hours
• San Jose Exhibit Halls and Hours

• Movin' On: Armstrong exits SIA; Genus grabs Bobel; Prabhakar departs NIST, joins Raychem

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May 1997 - Selected Contents

• 300-mm pacesetters

• Lead Story: Physicists hope to launch space technique as cleaning breakthrough
• Lefty: Impressionable youth
• Breakout: Lam enters CMP biz by buying OnTrak
• Tech Transfer Update: NASA lab looking for R&D partners
• World Beat: Asia: SDC completes Chinese installation; Fairchild enlarges distribution network; Japanese 300-mm consortium installs Nanometrics tool; Noran relocates sales office. Europe: Ashland to operate Motorola chemical system; Realtime signs Austrian sales rep
• Expansions and Acquisitions: AMD secures loan to build German fab; Electroglas to buy Knights; Veeco eyes Wyko; Edlon doubles capacity; gas detection start-up opens doors; Simco establishes static unit; Linear design center debuts; Tosoh sets up development team; Ashland enlarges tech site; Steag cuts ribbon on training facility
• What's Going On: FPD Expo Japan, Semicon/West 97, and more
• Round The Circuit: RTI offers on-line solvents guide; NIST physicists studying SPMs; international 300-mm meeting set for Semicon/Kansai; builders association honors Hodess; Japanese display magazines translated
• Order Desk: Wafer maker receives Applied 300-mm tool; cavern site to get coating tools; Mosel Vitelic buys Therma-Wave metrology gear

• ULTRAPURE FLUIDS: Measuring and removing dissolved and colloidal silica ultrapure water.
• ULTRAPURE GASES: Certifying gas distribution systems in a fab producing advanced-technology devices.
• TECH FOCUS-CMP: Evaluating chemical mechanical cleaning technology for post-CMP applications.

• Products: Lithography filter, thin-film analyzer, mist chamber, substrate carriers, portable welding system, fluoropolymer tubing, vacuum gauge, training videos, recirculating chillers, cleanroom clog, SEM monitoring software, grounding wrist straps, pressure sensors, photoresists, rinser/dryer, and particle counters
• Pick of the Literature: Brochures, user's guides, and more

• Movin' On: Tani promoted to standards vp for SEMI Japan; Sinha, Grubel taken on board at Asyst; AlliedSignal gets Wild as president of subsidiary; Hull forges ahead at MRS

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April 1997 - Selected Contents

• Corporate genealogy

• Lead Story: Chipmakers, vendors will soon shake effects of DRAM glut
• Lefty: High-water mark
• Breakout: 'Net, future causing institute to take stock
• World Beat: Asia: Anam equips first fab; Fluoroware starts Korean joint venture; Lam opens Japanese customer center; Sverdrup tapped for Holtek's UPW system; Applied, Asyst score with ProMos; TSMC getting automated
• Expansions and Acquisitions: Millipore seals Tylan General deal; ChemWest signs sales agent; Voltaix enlarges NJ plant; Fuji-Hunt Electronics becomes Fujifilm Olin; HP buys Rockland Technologies; Price Waterhouse joins TEOS Consortium; BOC building gas generator at MEMC; Petroferm buys solvent line; Advance Tabco opens plant; Eagle Stainless Tube adds capacity
• Order Desk: Ion Systems equips TECH fab; Helix buys CD system from Fairchild; Eaton to serve Dominion; PRI stocks U.S. company; GaSonics moves $10M+ of product; Veeco scores AFM sales; Ultratech sells first disk-drive tool; VLSI sticks with Tencor; Therma-Wave tool shows off CMP system
• Round the Circuit: Consortium claims DRAM breakthrough; Valley Design debuts demo 300-mm wafers; NIST metrology fellowship awarded; AVS calls for papers; Fluoroware lab accredited by AALA; Dataquest sees `97 as year of 0.35 micron m
• On Display: Motorola FPD fab to open; dpiX picks PST; FSI unit sells cluster tools

• CLEANROOM TECHNOLOGIES: Developing an exit charge specification for semiconductor production equipment.
• ANALYTICAL TECHNOLOGIES: Using emission spectroscopy to perform impurity analyses in UHP gases.
• TECH FOCUS-GREEN & CLEAN: Cleaning silicon wafers with an argon/nitrogen cyrogenic aerosol process.

• Products: LCD cleaning module, handheld UV lamp, HPLC pump, laminar-flow hood, thin-film measurement tool, forced-hot-air dryer, FPD processing system, gas filters, conductivity sensors, coating system, ion implanter, flowmeters, cleanroom footwear, static-dissipative wiper, MFC, environmental monitor, gowning racks, inspection system, CCD camera, cleanroom mat, and more

• Movin' On: Richards replaces Schumaker at Emcore; UTI secures Sharp; Nishino gets nod at Cybeq Nano; Novak leaves TI for Radian; Starr ascends at Trebor

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March 1997 - Selected Contents

• The fab's beating heart

• Lead Story: Industry greets KLA-Tencor merger with insouciance
• Lefty: Off the mark
• Breakout: Asyst to shut down automation unit
• World Beat: Europe: Coherent caps laser deal; Siemens, Opal, team on SEM; Macrotron reps MEGA; Steag grabs RTP stake; Photronics ups capacity; Fluoroware debuts in Paris; Solvay to build HP plant. Asia: Air Products, Showa Denko partner; Japan certifies Tescom; Hyundai installs Orbot tools; WWK expands Tokyo ops
• Expansions and Acquisitions: Black & Veatch, McCarthy form BVM; Photronics touts Texas plant; Filtration Group expands; Kinetico renovates
• ISO Update: The latest 9000-series certifications
• Order Desk: Samsung taps ASML again; Lumonics claims 300-mm first; LG buys CFM panel tool; ASM makes Asian sales; National to install Asyst SMIFs
• Round the Circuit: Report sees scrubber, adsorber market growth; chipmakers increase capacity use; MRS on CD-ROM; SEMI releases latest member directories; analytical chemistry grants offered; I300I tests Nanometrics tool

• PROCESS CLEANLINESS: Using categorized defect learning to optimize photo process.
• SURFACE CLEANLINESS: Meeting the challenge of submicron characterization on final-polished wafers.
• MEMS TECHNOLOGY: Evaluating the use of hard-mask films during silicon etching.
• MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES: Developing a workforce for a high-yield semiconductor fab.

• Products: Excimer lasers, PFA diaphragm valve, disk-drive cleaner, RGA control software, cluster tool robots, coater parts cleaner, liquid-level sensor, imaging microscope, UV step-and-scan system, power supply, vacuum metallizer, adhesives, transducer, gas sensor module; OCR wafer lot system, chillers, face masks, PFC replacement, vapor dryer, wafer sorter, thickness measurement system, liquid particle monitors, pump, tubing, yield-analysis software, and more
• Pick of the Literature: Tech manuals, brochures, catalogs, and the like
• Product Extra!: Subppb-quality HF, HCl developed; carriers configured for fragile wafers; HVAC system designed for minienvironments; garment cleanliness tests offered; automatic defect classification option featured; cleanroom safety video released; filtration module boasts increased surface area; sales and marketing teams established; heated pumping line jackets carry CE marking

• Movin' On: Burns helms EcoSys; Mattson names Martin president; Fairchild Technologies taps Neumann; Soitec selects Murray; Rhine, Nichols join Hultquist Capital

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February 1997 - Selected Contents

• The postlithographic era

• Lead Story: SIA roadmap update: New definition, advanced defect detection tools are keys to highway
• Lefty: No cleanroom cigars
• Breakout: Former college dean opens training firm
• World Beat: Asia: Varian, TEL retool pact; ASML's Taiwan center opens; Therma-Wave chooses Japan rep; Emcore starts Taiwan office; W-J's Japan site debuts
• Expansions and Acquisitions: Tencor gets Ultrapointe; Applied absorbs Opal, Orbot; PRI, Shinko ink robot deal; Greene Tweed to build cleanroom; airborne molecular filter line launched; Prudential buys Mexico site; G&K acquires Allied
• Order Desk: Mitsubishi buys automation systems; Jenoptik breaks through in Korea; Tencor reaches shipping milestones
• Round the Circuit: IDEMA standards group progresses; IMEC, ASML seek advanced deep-UV process; I300I chooses FSI tool; Lam licenses TI software for 300-mm lines

• ULTRAPURE GASES: Using an in-line monitor to obtain real-time moisture measurements.
• CLEANROOM TECHNOLOGIES: Evaluating sample preparation techniques for cleanroom wiper testing.

• Products: Wafer-transfer system, ICP-MS, scanning-probe microscope, pinch valve, production software, gas heater, ozone-cleaning system, cassette cleaner, pressure sensor, portable gas chromatograph, wet station, CVD platform, MR-head stepper, tubing, photoresist stripper, cleanroom kneeling pad, nebulizer, gas-system fittings, surface analysis system, and more
• Product Extra!: Liquid, vacuum particle counter lines combined; 300-mm wafer carrier released; off-line version of defect classification system presented; antireflection layer technology introduced; etchant manufacturing capacity increased; ESD training program offered
• Pick of the Literature: Data sheets, technical bulletins, brochures, and more

• Movin' On: Evenhuis to exit Lam; Therma-Wave heralds Holland, Mak; Hiac-Royco slots Spilis; Osmonics taps Kelly

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January 1997 - Selected Contents

• Evolution to green

• Lead Story: New SEMI president grapples with trade group's rapid growth
• Lefty: No, after you
• Breakout: Disk drive industry finally makes time to tackle microcontamination issues
• On Display: Roadmap session set for Display Works; U.S., South Korea to cooperate on industry issues; Eaton forms display division; Stanford Resources' web site debuts
• Round the Circuit: Melliar-Smith named Sematech president; Nikon, TEL, Dainippon Screen make VLSI Top 10; third edition of Microchip Fabrication released; chip industry takes biggest gulp of ultrapure water
• World Beat: Asia: BOC signs Korea deal with Atto; MKS opens support center in Taiwan; Knights starts Indian office. Europe: Lam, SGS-Thomson target 300-mm etch; Applied chooses Newcastle for new training center
• Expansions and Acquisitions: Eaton opens Austin plant; Fujikin to boost U.S. manufacturing capacity; BOC to build plant near Portland, OR
• Order Desk: MRS sells tools to EG&G ; Hyundai buys W-J CVD systems; Promos picks SpeedFam equipment; CFM sells first unit to Taiwan

• ANALYTICAL TECHNOLOGIES: Using two-dimensional ion chromatography to measure contaminants in ultrapure chemicals.
• ULTRAPURE FLUIDS: Evaluating the performance of dual PTFE filter assemblies in hot-acid etch baths.
• TECH FOCUS-GREEN & CLEAN: Characterizing effluents from PECVD, plasma etch processess.

• Products: FPD metrology system, cleanroom window film, cassette-transport system, intermetal dielectric processing, face protector, deep-UV photoresists, testure measurement systems, MFC, sputtering target, 300-mm cassette elevator, in situ monitor, POU scrubber, CD-SEM, substrate washer, flowmeters, trace oxygen analyzer, surface profiler, plasma-etch system, and more
• Pick of the Literature: Brochures, guides, catalogs, bulletins, and more
• Product Extra!: Real-time monitoring of ionization systems introduced; CD-ROM deals with ISO 14000; boron trifluoride delivery capability added; calibration services for humidity instruments offered; microanalysis tool available with wafer inspection system; two stepper models upgraded; toll-free numbers established

• Movin' On: Aksaka anchors Applied Japan; MRC goes forward with Foster; Novellus nabs Smith; PMS tabs Haas as CFO; Taylor picked as Micro Weld president

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