The 300-mm transition redefines industry cooperation
10/01/1997
At one of the earliest industry-wide forums detailing the results of Semi's survey of global device manufacturers regarding their plans for 300-mm conversion, I was taken to task by an executive from a Semi member company who asked, "Why are you guys cramming 300 mm down our throats when we've got our hands full with 200 mm?" From that day on, I've tried to make it clear at all such meetings that Semi did not set out to convert the industry to 300-mm wafers or any other larger wafer size. Back in 1994 we recognized that the semiconductor industry — our members' customers — had already begun planning the next wafer size conversion beyond 200 mm and different companies were talking about different sizes. There were advocates for every size from 250 mm up to 450 mm, thus creating a great dilemma for our members. Should the equipment companies start developing (at great cost) systems that would handle all those size variations? And should the materials industry begin exploring how to produce silicon wafers in all those sizes? Of course not. Even if they had customer funding, which they did not, member companies could never have survived the financial burden.
Beginning with the 1994 Global Consortia Summit in Geneva, Semi set out to get the customer base, working through their various consortia and associations, to agree on one size for the next conversion. All they did in Geneva that April was agree to agree. It took many months of more-intensive meetings around the world before, in December of that year, chipmakers agreed on 300 mm. Beyond that, Semi set its sights on monitoring progress of the conversion and facilitating the exchange of pre-competitive information that would make the transition smoother and more affordable for our member companies.
As an unplanned, but positive result of this effort, the Semi 300-mm Initiative has become a model for international industry cooperation never before seen in this or any other industry. It paves the way for Semi, as a global organization, to facilitate similar cooperative efforts on other industry-wide challenges. One example is the area of environment, health and safety, for which Semi has established a new EHS Division. Another example is in addressing the technology breakthroughs needed in test, assembly, and packaging, which are the subject of the new Semi TAP Initiative announced in July; and certainly we have now formed a working model for the inevitable future transitions to even larger wafer sizes.
Of course the 300-mm transition is barely under way, and we are dealing with cooperation only at the pre-competitive level. Some factors, and, in fact, the spirit of cooperation, will and should change once the real competition begins for devices manufactured on 300-mm wafers. For now, however, cooperation is in the air and Solid State Technology has planned a series of four special articles dealing with various aspects of the transition and its impact on semiconductor manufacturing.
The first article, which follows, looks at the I300I/J300 joint guidance document and its expectations for 300-mm tools. Future articles will deal with 300-mm wafer supply issues; environmental, safety, and health issues; and the challenges of 300-mm fab design.
I appreciate the opportunity to serve as guest editor for this series. I hope that the many readers of Solid State Technology will benefit from what they learn.
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George A. Lee is director of Semi's Global 300-mm Initiative, which was launched in 1996. In this capacity, he also publishes the Semi Global 300 mm Update newsletter and contributes articles about the 300-mm transition to various publications. Previously, Lee was the founder, board chairman, and CEO of Strata Systems Inc.