ERSO re-invented for .18 micron

05/01/1998

ERSO re-invented for 0.18 micron

Taiwan`s Electronics Research & Service Organization (ERSO) within the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) has a new general director with Dr. Genda J. Hu. Formerly VP of Information Storage Devices, San Jose, CA, Hu takes charge of ERSO as the organization sets off with a new charter for the development of 0.18-micron processes.

ERSO`s previous charter was to develop complete wafer fabrication process flows for an advanced process generation, and then to spin-off the operation as a new commercial manufacturing company. UMC and TSMC were created in this manner, and Vanguard Semiconductor was spun-off at the end of 1994 for the 0.7- to 0.5-micron generation.

Vanguard was started with the core process technologies, the buildings and capital equipment of Taiwan`s first 200-mm wafer fab, and 330 of the then-ERSO personnel at all levels needed to start production. ERSO`s staff level is still reduced; there are currently only 40 engineers to continue process development.

The Taiwanese government invested approximately NT$7 billion in the original project that eventually became Vanguard. When the manufacturing line was fully established and operational, bids were solicited for the buy-out. The winning bid, from the team lead by TSMC, was NT$5.5 billion as initially valued stock. The stock has since doubled in value, resulting in a profit for the government. With such a successful project completion, ERSO may continue to sprout new independent companies.

However, the fab business environment in Taiwan has developed dramatically in recent years, and ITRI`s directors have decided that there are a sufficient number of officially seeded companies on the island. As a result, ERSO will not create spin-offs and will not develop complete process lines. Instead, the approximately NT$2 billion investment in 0.18-micron processing will focus on the development of independent process modules in what have been identified as the most difficult areas. These modules will then be licensed to existing Taiwanese manufacturers.

The first focus areas will be interconnects (including CMP), multichip-modules, and lithography. Different options will be explored for lithography. Hu stated, "We will start with deep UV and throw everything at it: optical proximity correction, phase-shift masks, etc. Then we`ll try to look at 193 nm."

As of press-time, first silicon was set to run last month through the class 1&100 fab. With an extremely limited budget, ERSO is soliciting donations of key pieces of capital equipment. Ulvac donated a long-throw sputtering system valued at NT$100 million, and TSMC contributed a complete CMP system. - E.K.