MAY 7, 2001 — AUSTIN, TX — The new Canary ESD Service was successfully used to mitigate electrostatic discharge events at Advanced Micro Devices’ FAB 25 facility.

The service, which was co-developed by DuPont Photomasks Inc. and Ion Systems, identifies and eliminates ESD in the photomask path.

“Electrostatic discharge is a costly industry issue that affects every member of the photolithography value chain. Our development of the Canary ESD Service with DuPont Photomasks and AMD’s subsequent utilization are reflective of the kind of industry cooperation required to meet the growing complexity of the subwavelength era,” said Scot Gehlke, president and CEO of Ion.

Photomasks are used to pattern integrated circuits on silicon wafers in the semiconductor manufacturing process. In October, AMD acquired the service in hopes of reducing photomask loss due to ESD events to zero.

“By utilizing the Canary ESD Service, we are protecting our photomasks from the potentially devastating effects of ESD events,” said Dan Sutton, a senior member of AMD’s technical staff. “This should enable us to protect wafer yields and improve productivity by reducing process downtime and placement and repair costs associated ESD-damaged photomasks.”

AMD is also implementing several recommendations from the Canary ESD Service audit team including modifying photomask-handling procedures and evaluating new materials that can help it manage and dissipate static charge.