USA

12/01/1998

USA

Under a new agreement, Unitive Electronics will get some help from Karl SUSS in commercializing its wafer bumping and redistribution process developed at the Microelectronics Center of North Carolina. Karl SUSS will supply Unitive with photolithography equipment and engineering resources as Unitive opens production facilities in several key markets. In return, Unitive will serve as an end user beta test site for Karl Suss`s production mask aligners.

In a joint development agreement, Applied Materials and Nanometrics will integrate Nanometrics` dry wafer thickness measurement system with Applied`s Mirra CMP system. Applied will have the exclusive rights to offer Nanometrics` NanoSpec 9000 dry wafer thickness metrology technology as an option on its dry-in dry-out CMP configuration.

In addition, Applied Materials Inc., Santa Clara, CA, has received an order from Lucent Technologies` Bell Labs for an Epi Centura system, which will be used to develop and manufacture silicon germanium-based devices. In addition, Applied has shipped an RT-8200 reticle inspection system to Align-Rite International Inc., a maker of photomasks in Bridgend, Wales.

PLEX LLC, Cambridge, MA, is taking orders for a compact extreme UV light source targeted at developers of EUV lithography tools and processes. The source could also be used for commercial production in the event EUV becomes a production successor to optical lithography. PLEX has received about $1.5 million in funding, mostly from government agencies like the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and Ballistic Missile Defense Organization.

Eaton Corp. is planning to close its medium current ion implant manufacturing plant in Austin, TX, and transfer production to its ion implant division in Beverly, MA. Eaton`s flat panel equipment unit will also be consolidated into the implant division. Eaton will also merge its Peabody, MA, thermal processing systems business into its Fusion Systems Division in Rockville, MD. In total, 475 positions will be cut.

Varian has cut employee levels in its semiconductor equipment unit to about 860, down from 1100 in February. The cuts have been taken at its Gloucester, MA, facility and at the Newburyport, MA, facility it acquired recently from Genus. Varian will also spin out its Semiconductor Equipment business unit into a pure-play ion implant company.

Cirrus Logic plans to reduce its fixed wafer fab capacity by 70%. Moving toward a fabless model, Cirrus is negotiating with partner IBM to restructure its 48% stake in the MiCRUS joint venture fab. The company is also in separate discussions with Lucent Technologies to sell its 40% stake in the Cirent Semiconductor joint fab in Orlando, FL.As a result, Cirrus said it will eliminate 400 to 500 positions.

Silicon Valley Group (SVG) has initiated a restructuring plan that will eliminate another 300 jobs, bringing the total workforce cut since April to over 1200. SVG also plans to close its horizontal furnace plant in the UK and transfer production to its Thermco division in California. SVG will discontinue production of a photoresist processing tool.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has selected National Semiconductor to lead a three-year, $18.6 million joint program that hopes to maintain Moore`s Law by improving CD uniformity during the wafer patterning process. Under the pre-competitive program, researchers hope the improvements will allow them to extend current 0.25-?m tool set capabilities to 0.15 ?m. In the first year, researchers expect to identify the major sources of CD variations along lithography, etch, and metrology lines.

A US District Court in the Northern District of California ruled in favor of Electro Scientific Industries (ESI) in a two-year old patent infringement suit against General Scanning, Watertown, MA. The suit alleges that General Scanning is infringing two ESI patents relating to 1.32-?m wavelength lasers for laser repair of devices. The court said that General Scanning has infringed ESI`s patents and denied General Scanning`s motion for summary judgment that ESI`s patents are invalid due to prior art.

Mitsubishi Polysilicon, Mobile, AL, is postponing production at its new $150 million polycrystal silicon plant until 2Q99, when it expects to begin a ramp to full production of 80-85 metric tons/

month. At full production, the facility will employ 130.

Ferrofluidics, Nashua, NH, has sold its crystal-puller business unit to General Signal`s Kayex division for $10.8 million in cash. Kayex, which also makes crystal growing equipment, will get the business, intellectual property, and certain inventory, fixed assets, and tooling of Ferrofluidics` Systems Division. Kayex will design, market, manufacture, and sell the crystal-growing systems worldwide, and service the worldwide installed base.

Solitec Wafer Processing, San Jose, CA, has agreed to purchase the resist processing operations of Ultratech Stepper East, the former Integrated Solutions Inc. (ISI) business in Tewksbury, MA. Solitec, which currently produces a line of low-cost wafer tracks for niche applications, will continue to market all the former ISI products, including lines that descend from Machine Technology Inc., which ISI acquired in 1994.

Fluoroware Inc., Chaska, MN, a supplier of materials management, and Asyst Technologies Inc., Fremont, CA, a supplier of manufacturing automation and standard mechanical interface isolation, have negotiated a long-term licensing agreement, under which Asyst will integrate its patented gas purge technology into Fluoroware`s 300-mm AutoPod front-opening unified pod.

Scanning probe microscope (SPM) suppliers Park Scientific Instruments, Sunnyvale, CA, a ThermoSpectra company, and TopoMetrix Corp., Santa Clara, CA, will combine to form a new company, ThermoMicroscopes. The companies will share products, technologies, and SPM intellectual property and patent portfolios.

Industry consortia Semiconductor Research Corp. and SEMATECH have chosen N.C. State University to carry out a $1.6 million front-end process (FEP) research program. Funding for the FEP center will increase to $2.5 million annually by the program`s third year; research results are expected to be implemented industry-wide within four to seven years.

Credence Systems Corp., Fremont, CA, a maker of automatic test equipment (ATE), has been selected by the Fabless Semiconductor Association as the ATE provider for the association`s Standard Foundry Process Qualification Test Chip Program. Credence testers will serve as the benchmark for validating test chips for this program. In addition, Credence has received an order from Rood Technology Deutschland GmbH & Co., Germany, for a Duo system with Credence`s analog instruments.

FEI Company, Hillsboro, OR, has received a multiple unit order from a major Far East thin-film head maker for focused ion beam products for row-bar and wafer-based heads for trimming. In addition, FEI received a $5.5 million order for its DualBeam systems from a US maker of data storage and semiconductor products.

Rudolph Technologies Inc., Flanders, NJ, has shipped its MetaPULSE 300 metrology tool to Semiconductor 300, Dresden, Germany, for use in its 300-mm pilot fab. The metal-film measurement tool will be used to measure and qualify films such as WSix, Ti/TiN, and AlCu in multilayer filmstacks.

Epitaxial wafer supplier EMCORE has opened a 50,000 ft2 facility in Albuquerque, NM, where it plans to expand the plant to 70,000 ft2 by 2002. Production at the facility, known as EMCORE-west, is slated to begin in 1Q99.

Planar Advance Inc., Beaverton, OR, and dpiX have been selected by Kaiser Electronics to provide production quantities of the Eagle-6 multipurpose color display for the US Navy`s F/A-18E/F Super Hornet strike fighter program.

Microbar Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, is adding several new chemical management product lines, including a copper handling system, and hopes to go public within the next year as part of a quick move to the $100 million revenue level. The firm has most of its current business in photoresist delivery and removal systems.

Numerical Technologies Inc., Santa Clara, CA, has entered into an OEM agreement with several companies for its new mask defect analysis system using a photolithography process to improve mask and wafer yield. The Virtual Stepper will be integrated with Applied Materials and KLA-Tencor reticle inspection systems, and Zygo Advanced Imaging Systems mask review stations.

Eaton Thermal Processing Systems, Beverly, MA, has sold its Compact II fast ramp vertical furnace to a US semiconductor manufacturer. The system, which has process capability for critical low temperature applications, will be used to develop furnace-based reflow processes as part of the customer`s migration to 300-mm wafer production.

FSI International, Minneapolis, MN, has received a $7 million order for chemical delivery equipment from Wacker Siltronic Singapore Pte. Ltd. The customized equipment based on FSI standard dispense systems will deliver chemicals and slurries used in the manufacture of silicon wafers.

GE, Pleasanton, CA, has launched GE Semiconductor, an initiative that aims to streamline GE`s semiconductor manufacturing products and services. GE Semiconductor combines GE`s 11 existing businesses that serve the semiconductor market. Under the new business model, customers will have one point of contact instead of dealing with the 11 units individually.