Issue



USA


02/01/1999







USA

The Focus Center Research Program - the brainchild of the semiconductor industry, the federal government, and 14 US-based universities - has officially been established to explore R&D chipmaking issues. Two centers have been established, one for design/test issues led by the University of California at Berkley and a second for interconnect issues led by the Georgia Institute of Technology. R&D agendas are focused on new technologies for commercialization. Future research agendas will be based on requirements detailed in SIA`s Roadmap.

PRI Automation, Billerica, MA, has agreed to a stock-swap takeover of Promis Systems Inc., Toronto. The

deal is worth C$6.65/share (US$4.29), or a total of US$52.34 based on the fully diluted number of Promis shares.

The deal adds to PRI`s fab automation products, and adds to the competition between PRI and tool robotics supplier Brooks Automation, which acquired MES developer FASTech Integration.

Under a joint development program, Lam Research Corp. and National Semiconductor will develop advanced aluminum etch processes for production of 0.18- through 0.13-?m devices. Processes will be developed on Lam`s TCP 9600PTX metal etch cluster system at National`s Advanced Technology Group development facility in Santa Clara, CA. In addition, Lam is installing a 9600PTX metal etch cluster system at National`s South Portland, ME, facility. Novellus Systems Inc., San Jose, CA, has delivered Damascus copper toolsets to a number of chipmakers in North America, Asia, and Europe. The SABRE electrofill and INOVA physical vapor deposition systems are expected to be used to produce dual damascene copper structures with 0.18-?m geometries.

Extraction Systems Inc., Franklin, MA, will loan International SEMATECH a 10-point total molecular base real time monitor to perform photoresist development work, particularly experiments involving 193-nm photoresists. The two groups will design and construct an environmental stress chamber to correlate total amine concentration to 193-nm resist processing failure.

Intel is giving the Department of Energy`s Sandia National Laboratory a royalty-free license to develop the radiation-hardened version, low-power Pentium for space and defense applications such as satellites and missile systems. Silicon-on-insulator materials are to be used for the devices. Sandia will begin low-volume production at an in-house line, but hopes to qualify domestic foundries for volume production.

IBM, Fishkill, NY, has announced plans for incorporating double data rate synchronous DRAM (DDR SDRAM) technology in future memory offerings. IBM is shipping customer samples of 0.20-?m, 256-Mbit DDR SDRAM, with volume shipments available by mid year. IBM is also manufacturing prototypes of

0.20-?m, 64-Mbit DDR SDRAM.

Rockwell Automation has acquired Anorad Corp., Hauppauge, NY, which will become part of Rockwell Automation`s Motion and Information Group and will continue to sell its linear motor components and systems through existing sales channels. In addition, Rockwell Automation`s sister business, Semiconductor Systems, is on track for a planned spin-off from parent Rockwell International. The new company will be called Conexant Systems.

Plasma-Therm Inc., St. Petersburg, FL, is restructuring operations and expects to achieve a $7 million savings in FY99. The changes include a 15% work force cut, affecting about 26 people, as well as inventory reductions and better business cycle times. The change is a result of a contract with integrated supply chain management firm TRW/BDM International, and current market conditions.

With an eye toward expanding its reach in ion beam inspection and circuit modification markets, FEI Corp., Hillsboro, OR, has agreed to acquire Micrion Corp., Peabody, MA, in a stock and cash deal worth about $52.2 million at recent stock prices.

BOC Edwards and Matheson Electronic Products, a division of Matheson Gas Products, have set a reciprocal agreement to stock and deliver cylinder gases for their semiconductor industry customers. Under the agreement, Matheson will provide stocking and just-in-time delivery services for BOC Edwards in Austin, Colorado, and other key markets. In turn, BOC will offer similar services to the North Carolina and Arizona regions.

FSI International, Minneapolis, MN, is shipping multiple P4400 slurry blending and distribution systems and turnkey services to Texas Instruments. (TI). Installed in facilities in Dallas, the systems will support a copper CMP program at TI`s R&D and production facility and oxide slurry applications in its DFAB1.

Trio-Tech International, San Fernando, CA, has shipped its new model VLF-2002 automated wafer processing station to a major semiconductor equipment manufacturer for use in a new Silicon Valley fab. The system accommodates an experimental copper plating process for 200-mm wafers.

Zygo Corp., Middlefield, CT, has signed an exclusive worldwide distribution agreement with the IBM Manufacturing Technology Center, Boca Raton, FL, under which Zygo will market and sell IBM`s atomic force microscope in all markets worldwide. The system is based on scanning tunneling microscopy technology that can measure submicron features to angstrom level resolution.

Candescent Technologies Corp. has sold Temescal model FCE-7000 modular cluster tools valued at $24 million to BOC Coating Technology. The systems will be used for the production of field emission displays to be used in thin, flat-panel display applications.