Europe

02/01/1997

Europe

France Telecom-CNET and SGS-Thomson Microelectronics have successfully processed the first wafers in their next generation of technology, using a 0.25-micron CMOS process with 0.20-micron effective gate length. The process was developed at SGS-Thomson`s advanced 200-mm wafer fabrication plant in Crolles, near Grenoble, France. The first prototypes of customer designs using the process will start production in 2Q97.

Capital spending cuts. Six major Japanese chipmakers have made cuts in their current-year capital spending plans (Table 2), and South Korean giant Samsung will reportedly cut 1997 capital spending on facilities by 17% over current-year levels. The companies generally blamed DRAM price softness for the cuts. Another factor, however, is the apparent success of chipmakers` efforts to improve utilization of existing facilities. Dataquest principal analyst Clark Fuhs suggested that DRAM-related capital investment would be cut by as much as one-quarter in 1997, equal to a 30% cut in equipment spending, with tool buys in Asia and Japan hit the hardest. He also predicted that advanced logic spending would recover first, and that Japanese firms would continue to build fab shells to be prepared for the next business cycle.

Jenoptik Infab, Jena, Germany, has received a multimillion dollar order from Anam Industrial Co. Ltd., Seoul, Korea. Anam will supply Ergospeed ergonomic SMIF robot systems, minienvironments, and the complete IridNet advanced tracking system. Anam`s new 200-mm ASIC foundry fab will have a capacity of 25,000 wafer starts/month. Installation of Jenoptik`s equipment will begin in March, with pilot production scheduled for June `97.Orbotech`s patented ellipsometric scanning technology.

Align-Rite International Inc., Los Angeles, CA, will invest ?11 million (about US$17.6 million) to expand its photomask manufacturing facility in Bridgend, Wales. The expansion, which will more than double manufacturing capacity, will add 200 new employees. Align-Rite will spend over ?5 million (about $8 million) on key equipment to accommodate the first phase of its European expansion program.