INDUSTRY NEWS

’ROUND THE CIRCUIT

Fab workers strike Rockwell

More than 600 union fab technicians at Rockwell Semiconductor Systems in Newport Beach, CA, called a strike after rejecting the company's five-year contract offer. Members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 2295 walked off the job on May 28 in protest over inadequate pay raises and company plans to institute mandatory 12-hour workdays. Rockwell reportedly offered wage increases of 5% in the contract's first year, 3% in the second year, 4% in the third and fourth years, and 5% in the last year. Most of the technicians make between $25,000 and $35,000 annually, according to press reports. The contract would have extended a policy of 12-hour shifts with shorter workweeks that Rockwell had established approximately two years ago. The pact would have also required weekend shifts twice a month. The striking technicians claim the 12-hour days leave them little time to spend with their families. They want to return to 8-hour workdays.

Eileen Algaze, public relations manager for Rockwell, says technicians have also struck the chipmaker's fab near Cedar Rapids, IA. The Newport Beach fab is a Class 1 facility that manufactures mixed-signal devices on 5- and 8-in. wafers for use in modems and cordless phones. Company policy prevented her from answering questions about the technicians' concerns, the spokeswoman says, adding, "We won't negotiate the labor issues in the media." She emphasizes that the strike "has had no immediate impact on business" and that the fab would continue operating with nonunion workers. The sides were not negotiating at press time during the first week of June, and no talks were scheduled.

Sematech's Squires dies

M. Franklin Squires, Sematech's senior vice president and CAO, died of a heart attack on May 30 while taking a walk in Austin, TX. He was 53 years old. Mr. Squires, who was also managing director for International Sematech, oversaw a wide range of administrative functions for the consortium, which has 10 U.S. member firms and five non-U.S.-company members. In his additional role as general manager, Mr. Squires was responsible for programs such as lithography, wafer size transitions, and ESH.

The establishment of International Sematech in April 1998 was one of the executive's major accomplishments, says Mark Melliar-Smith, Sematech's president and CEO. "Frank was a big part of the success of Sematech, managing our operations so the technical goals of the consortium could be pursued and achieved," eulogized the consortium's head. "Frank helped lead our consortium to a new global level with International Sematech. His contributions to Sematech and to the Austin community have been significant. He will be missed."

Mr. Squires was vice president of research operations at Xerox PARC before joining Sematech in 1991. He received a BS in 1966 from West Virginia University. Mr. Squires served on the board of directors of the Austin Community College Foundation. He is survived by his wife, Bonnie, and his children, Frank Jr. and Kim. Sematech has set up a fund in recognition of Mr. Squires's involvement in developing educational and workforce training programs. Donations may be sent to the Frank Squires Workforce and Education Fund, c/o Sematech, 2706 Montopolis Dr., Austin, TX 78741.

U of A duo gets ESH honor

Two researchers from the University of Arizona have received an award for research excellence in semiconductor manufacturing and environment, safety, and health from the Semiconductor Safety Association, Sematech, and the Semiconductor Research Corp. A cash award of $5000 was presented to Farhang Shadman and Gary Chen at the association's annual conference on April 15 for their submission, A Novel Technology for Purification and Recycle of Water in Semiconductor Manufacturing Plants. The research is based on a photocatalytic purification method that was the basis of Chen's doctoral dissertation at the University of Arizona under the direction of Shadman, who is a professor of chemical engineering and director of the NSF/SRC Engineering Research Center for Environmentally Benign Semiconductor Manufacturing. Chen now works as an engineer for Micron Technology in Boise, ID. The method developed by Shadman and Chen is being refined by Pall and the university under a technology transfer and licensing agreement. Sematech is also helping the partners to develop and commercialize the technology. The award was established in 1996 to encourage and recognize process-centered ESH research in universities.

Thin-film papers published

Five technical papers on techniques for measuring the tensile properties of thin films have been published by NIST. The papers describe an apparatus that tests specimens with gauge sections typically 0.8 mm long and 50 to 200 µm wide. Specimens with thicknesses of 0.3 to 15 µm have also been tested. Titles include A New Method for Measuring the Strength and Ductility of Thin Films and Mechanical Behavior of Aluminum and Copper Thin Films. Information: 303/497-3853.

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