News Briefs
02/01/2004
Selete says it has etched and copper-plated 80nm-dia. vias at 200nm pitch intervals using its experimental Nikon e-beam tool, according to early press reports from the E-beam Projection Lithography forum in Tokyo. The tool is apparently still processing only 1 wafer/hr, but the enlarged 250µm² subfield will improve throughput, reports Solid State Technology's partner, Nikkei Microdevices Online. The roadmap calls for 5 wafers/hr by March, and 20 wafers/hr in the next-generation tool to follow. Though speeding up the system seems to consist of just basic engineering issues, development has to happen fast. Potential users at the forum said they needed to see at least 15 wafers/hr by the next workshop in June.
Super Silicon Crystal Research Institute Corp. has licensed its wafer-processing equipment to South Korea's Tera Semicon Corp. and Japan's Shinkugiken Co. The companies plan to produce tools by September 2004 that can deposit films simultaneously onto two wafers using high-speed jets of silicon gas. The institute, created by a group of Japanese wafer manufacturers, is working on development of next-generation 400mm wafers.
Shanghai Belling Co. plans to buy an 11% stake in its JV with Japan's NEC Corp. for $86 million, according to Dow Jones. NEC and its China unit own about 20% of Shanghai Hua Hong NEC Electronics Co., which opened China's first 200mm wafer foundry in 1999, and has a current output of 32,000 wafers/month. As part of the deal, Hua Hong NEC will take over Belling's 200mm, 0.25µm facility now under construction.
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. says it will spend up to ¥130 billion ($1.21 billion) to build a new production facility in Uozo. The new site will reportedly use 90nm- and 65nm-processes and have a capacity of roughly 10,000 300mm wafers/month, with mass production scheduled for fall 2005.
Taiwan's biggest contract chipmakers are boosting their investments in 2004. TSMC has reportedly approved $1.43 billion to expand production capacity of 130–90nm copper processes at its Fab 12 facility, with some investment in 0.18–0.15µm processes at the company's 8-in. fabs. TSMC's overall 2004 capex budget will be released early next year. UMC, meanwhile, has spent more than $25 million on new chipmaking equipment for its 300mm Singapore facility, UMCi, which will use the new gear to boost production to 10,000 wafers/month by the end of 2004.
Two pure-play III-V compound-semiconductor foundries based in the US and Taiwan plan to combine operations. Together, Global Communications Semiconductor Inc. (GCS), and Global Communication Technology Corp. (GCTC), both of which included 6-in. facilities, will form Global Compound Semiconductors Corp., effective in early 2004.
Taiwan's Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park expects record sales of $29.24 billion in 2004, according to local reports. The park posted $20.5 billion from January–October 2003, a 21.3% increase from a year ago. Overall, 2003 revenue is expected to be $24.9–$26.4 billion, with chips accounting for over 60% of that total. Investment proposals from January–November are at $5.3 billion, more than 6× the amount from a year ago.
TSMC and Omnivision Technologies plan to form a $50 million joint venture to offer backend chip production for image-capturing devices. The investment in the new company, VisEra Technology Co., is part of an overall effort by TSMC to expand its offerings into chip services, according to Genda Hu, TSMC VP of marketing. The deal is seen as a volley at IBM, which offers an array of chip design and production services and has had success in winning business from TSMC clients.
South Korea's semiconductor trade deficit reached a new high during the period from January to October, suggesting a deeper reliance on Japanese chipmaking equipment and nonmemory chips, according to the Korea International Trade Association. Exports were $15.5 billion, while imports jumped to $17.3 billion, mostly in trade with Japanese companies. It is the third consecutive year of semiconductor trade deficits, following a $6 billion surplus in 2000.
Samsung, Hynix, and Hyundai Motor are among a group of Korean chipmakers and car manufacturers exploring ways to develop SoCs for use in automobiles. A total of nine companies have participated in recent talks, according to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Energy and the Korea Times, which cited statistics from Nomura Securities projecting the SoC market for automobiles to grow from $1.26 billion in 2002 to $17 billion in 2007, surpassing the PC market.
Nearly 14 billion semiconductors worth $104 million were exported from China's Sichuan province through October 2003, a 23.8% increase compared with the same period a year ago. Semiconductor exports to Singapore were up 27.5%, accounting for nearly 90% of all chip exports. The increase was attributed in part to ON Semiconductor, whose domestic facility began its third phase of construction in 1999.
AMD says it plans to spend $30 million over the next two years to open a wholly-owned subsidiary, Advanced Micro Devices (China) Co. Ltd. in Beijing, pending final approval from the Chinese government. The announcement was made by CEO Hector Ruiz, who also announced a $120,000 donation to benefit youth education programs in China.