Japan

01/01/1998

Japan

The Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan reported that Japanese equipment makers logged orders of 133 billion yen ($1.1 billion) in August, some 137% better than year-ago levels and the seventh consecutive monthly increase. Sales of front-end tools dipped year-to-year, by 7.3%, but back-end sales were up over 40% each, according to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun. Total equipment orders in the Japanese market (including orders placed by Japanese firms at home and abroad) were 57.8 billion yen ($478 million), while sales were 57.9 billion yen ($479 million).

Mitsubishi Gas Chemical, Tokyo, has formed a new Singapore-based ultrapure hydrogen peroxide manufacturing firm. Capitalized at 800 million yen, the new firm is 90% owned by Mitsubishi Gas Chemical and 10% by Mitsubishi Chemical Singapore. Construction is set to begin early this year on a 15,000-m2 tract. Production will begin in April 1999, and the new plant is expected to have a capacity of 10,000 tons/year. According to current plans, Mitsubishi Chemical`s Kashima Plant in Japan will purchase the hydrogen peroxide.

As part of its effort to increase its sales presence in the US, Tokyo Electron Ltd. (TEL) is planning a manufacturing addition to its Austin, TX, office and training facility. Initial production will be of coater-developer systems, which are TEL`s largest revenue generator. The company is also at work on leveraging the CVD version of the MB2 tool, a legacy from a now-ended joint venture with Varian. CVD-based copper deposition may be in the cards, along with a wide variety of processes for barrier metals that can be used in dual damascene interconnect processes.