Intel, NEC outline 300-mm fab intentions
08/01/1997
Intel, NEC outline 300-mm fab intentions
Several leading chipmakers, including Intel and NEC, have begun to disclose plans for pilot production on 300-mm wafers. Their timelines indicate a relatively aggressive adoption path, with the first 300-mm production facilities coming on line during the 0.18-?m generation. The news is something of a confirmation of abstract figures collected by George Lee of SEMI`s 300-mm Initiative, which indicate that some nine 300-mm pilot lines will begin operation in 1998 to 1999.
An Intel spokesman confirmed that the company intends to begin shifting to 300-mm usage as it begins implementing 0.18 ?m. "We will make sure our 0.18-?m process works on 300-mm wafers, and make sure the equipment guys can ship in volume. That should be in the 1999 time frame," said the spokesman.
At that point, given its fab/year building schedule, Intel expects to have three fabs under construction, and a decision will be made as to which one will receive the first complete volume production tool set. "All our newer facilities are capable of going to 300 mm," the spokesman noted. The company`s planned fab in Fort Worth, TX, is currently clearing permits, he said, and new fabs in Israel and Ireland are expected to come on line during the 0.25-?m generation. One helpful aspect of the 0.18-?m transition, he added, is that 248-nm lithography tools will be usable at that geometry. Intel executives had suggested this might be necessary late last year, and optimism about the extendability of 248 has grown since then.
NEC, meanwhile, reportedly intends to add its first 300-mm pilot line at its new R&D facility in Sagamihara, Japan; that facility is slated for completion next April. The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported that plans call for commercial production to begin by the end of 1999, a year earlier than originally scheduled.
Fujitsu will be following a similar course, beginning with pilot 0.18-?m production in late 1998 or early 1999. Test production will be conducted at its Akiruno, Tokyo, development center, which is now under construction, again according to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun.
Ironically, Motorola has not emerged as one of the most aggressive 300-mm adopters, despite its important role in galvanizing the industry on the issue in the summer of 1994. At SEMICON/West that year, the company indicated it would break ground in 1996 for a 300-mm fab, with plans to complete it by 1998.
Since then, the time frame for 300 mm has been pushed back and then brought forward again as chipmakers and tool developers have grappled with the many economic and technical issues that attend the transition. Although lithography and metrology development have lagged other areas, there will almost certainly be an adequate tool set in place for pilot line work to begin next year.
Mitsubishi will build a 300-mm fab for 256-Mbit DRAM production at Kami-gun, Kochi Prefecture. The fab is slated for completion in 1999. Among Japanese companies, Sony has also declared its 300-mm plans, which involve a new production facility to be built at Nagasaki. Completion is also set for 1999.
Texas Instruments will install a 300-mm pilot line in Dallas, followed by a production line in Avezzano, Italy. Taiwanese chipmaker Mosel-Vitelic has also declared its intent to build a 300-mm production fab, but has not set a firm schedule except to say it will be "beyond 1998." - P.N.D.