Globalization to be reality at SEMATECH

05/01/1998

Globalization to be reality at SEMATECH

Peter N. Dunn, Senior Editor

Five non-US chipmakers will join the 10 American members of SEMATECH to form a new international consortium for development of lithography infrastructure; industry standards; environmental, safety, and health technology; and manufacturing methods. The new group, known as International SEMATECH, was scheduled for startup on April 2 and will be an independent subsidiary of SEMATECH. The existing International 300-mm Initiative will become a division of International SEMATECH.

Hyundai, Philips Semiconductors, SGS-Thomson, Siemens, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) have all agreed to take part in the new organization. Declining to join and relinquishing their memberships in I300I are South Korean chipmakers Samsung and LG Semicon. Japanese companies were not invited to join the new consortium.

SEMATECH president and CEO Mark Melliar-Smith cited several reasons for the move toward international membership, which has been in the works for some time. "Increasing our international activities is the most cost-effective way for the industry to stay on our productivity improvement curves," he said. "The semiconductor industry is critical to the world`s economy, and there are significant challenges to staying on those curves. We want to draw on global resources." He added that the global development "will be done in such a way that our historical support of the US equipment industry will continue."

He stated that the European and Asian firms taking part in International SEMATECH have tended to show "US-centric" equipment buying habits, and that most purchases going forward are expected to come from this group of suppliers. "We`re not US-exclusive," he added. "We have a number of tools here that are not from the US, but that`s generally for a specific reason. We run some equipment improvement programs on non-US tools because US members have requested it."

The departure of Samsung and LG from I300I, which became effective in January, and their absence from International SEMATECH, was driven by the firms` difficult financial straits, said I300I VP Frank Robertson. "They indicated that if it were not for that, they would have taken part," he said.

The exact amount of dues the companies would have had to pay is a SEMATECH secret, but a reasonable estimate can be figured by dividing the total budget of about $80 million for International SEMATECH and I300I by the 15 member companies, which results in an average of $5.3 million/member. Samsung as a whole has revenues of well over $50 billion, even with the depressed won, with semiconductors and electronics accounting for a substantial chunk.

Robertson suggested the Korean companies would likely fall back on technology alliances with other chipmakers to gain 300-mm knowledge; they will receive all I300I equipment evaluation results gathered through the end of 1997. The firms` actions will not affect I300I`s budget or operations, he added.

Samsung will keep its relationship with Selete in Japan, but LG will probably not be an early adopter of 300 mm. In addition, LG and Samsung could be cut off from early access to next-generation lithography technology developed by International SEMATECH.

The deal for an international consortium also raises concerns about the Japanese semiconductor industry, especially its equipment suppliers. There is a potential danger of that nation becoming isolated from the rest of the world IC community, despite the ongoing cooperation between its organizations and SEMATECH/I300I. Japanese chipmakers were not invited to join International SEMATECH, and as Melliar-Smith points out, the companies that did join tend to buy more US-made tools than Japanese. International SEMATECH will apparently not do anywhere near as much equipment improvement work as the domestic SEMATECH, and Melliar-Smith says there is no intention of dividing the globe into two camps. But the two camps began to form a couple of years ago, when Japan`s chip companies formed Selete and J300 rather than joining I300I (a party to which they were invited), and SEMATECH`s expansion continues the trend.

SEMATECH is shifting its lithography development efforts into the new International SEMATECH organization. The current year will see no increase in budget for work on litho projects. Down the road, however, the presence of non-US companies should provide more wherewithal and also more visibility into research being conducted around the globe, according to Karen Brown, director of lithography at SEMATECH.

Brown indicated that the international consortium might consider establishing exposure centers for post-optical litho technologies, along the lines of the existing 193-nm Resist Test Center. "The cost being so high, [lithography development] needs to be a global activity," she commented.

Brown said current-year litho expenditures will not go up, despite the establishment of International SEMATECH. "For 1998, the money will be the same as last year," she stated. "More dues will be paid in; how it gets spent is decided by the executive committee." Budget activities for 1999 will begin "in the July time frame," she added. Lithography will be the largest effort in International SEMATECH`s first few years, about double the cost of the International 300-mm Initiative, because it funds many development and data-gathering projects in addition to staff.

One of Brown`s favorite features of the new structure is the added connections it will provide to universities, national labs, and other organizations. "There are places where there`s a lot of knowledge and capability worldwide. We`ve got to be sure that we utilize them efficiently. Whether we contract with those groups or not, we will have better insight into what is going on," said Brown. "I`m really excited about that."

Although no Japanese companies were invited to join International SEMATECH, Brown looks forward to continued close relations with Japan`s Aset research consortium, as both groups work to develop 13- and 10-nm lithography solutions. A joint conference slated for March in Kyoto, to discuss the outlook for 2000-2010, should "enhance each others` knowledge of the work that`s going on in different regions," she said, adding, "There`s a lot of interaction with global infrastructure suppliers.

We`re interested in whatever technology can be brought to bear to solve the problems."

SEMATECH will now have about 520 employees; International SEMATECH will have about 150. Almost all manufacturing technicians and administrators will stay on the domestic side. The organization`s annual operating budget will increase to $160 million from $125 million, with funding divided approximately 50-50 between programs at the existing SEMATECH and subsidiaries. While Melliar-Smith will have ultimate oversight responsibility for all operations, chief operating officer Frank Squires will serve as managing director of International SEMATECH, with Brown continuing to manage lithography development, Robertson I300I activities, Bob Duffin the ES&H program, and Vern Reynolds the small manufacturing methods effort. Two separate boards of directors will be in place, as well as separate hierarchies of Technical Advisory Boards.

Melliar-Smith said SEMATECH anticipates that most member companies that have seats on both boards will assign the same person for both seats, and back-to-back meeting will be scheduled to facilitate this. New high-end videoconferencing capabilities are being added to aid international communication.

To date, SEMATECH has established a number of cooperative links with other consortiums, including the Japanese Selete, Aset, and J300 groups. "We will continue to interact with other consortiums around the world, when it makes sense," said Melliar-Smith. "Our work with J300 has been very successful, and we`ve had discussions with Selete on common tool demonstrations, and with Aset on advanced technologies."

Peter N. Dunn is senior editor of Solid State Technology and publisher and editor of WaferNews, the only weekly news publication dedicated to the semiconductor manufacturing community. Ph 603/891-9121, fax 603/891-0597, e-mail peterd@pennwell. com, or check URLwww.wafernews.com.