02/01/1998  American Cleanroom Garments will provide its cleanroom laundry service to TriQuint Semiconductor`s new wafer fab in Hillsboro, OR. TriQuint designs, develops, and markets high performance GaAs analog and mixed signal integrated circuits for the wireless communications, telecommunications, and computing markets. -- KES

02/01/1998  IPEC-Planar and OnTrak Systems Inc., have partnered allowing for the integration of IPEC`s AvantGaard 776 Integrated Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP) Process Capsule with OnTrak`s Synergy Integra wafer cleaning system. The combined system will be called AvantGaard 776-T. The system, which provides semiconductor manufacturers with a complete dry-wafer-in, dry-wafer-out solution for CMP, provides optimized cleanroom space, among other features. -- KES

01/01/1998  Polycrystalline silicon (polysilicon or poly-Si) has been an important material in integrated circuit (IC) technology for nearly two decades. It is widely used in MOS devices and bipolar ICs. Some of the recent applications of poly-Si include trench isolation, thin film transistors and micromachining. In many applications, chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) of polysilicon material is utilized to achieve surface smoothing or global planarization.

01/01/1998  As the critical Othird dimensionO ? line width ? shrinks, the inroads of airborne molecular contamination are becoming more and more apparent in 0.25-micron and next-generation devices, adding yet another layer of contamination control to the cleanrooms of the future.

01/01/1998  Baltimore -- Like its keynote speaker, Astronaut Jim Lovell -- commander of the widely-heralded Apollo 13 space flight to the moon -- CleanRooms East `98 is in a class by itself.

01/01/1998  Earlier this year, eight of the top 10 Japanese integrated circuit (IC) companies indicated that they would break with Japan`s long-standing practice of open cassettes and tight cleanroom protocols in favor of the front-opening unified pods (FOUPs) that are gaining wide acceptance elsewhere in the semiconductor manufacturing world. NEC and Mitsubishi were reported to be the only holdouts.

01/01/1998  Fujitsu Ltd. is planning on introducing SMIF-type minienvironments into a new 200 mm wafer fab in Mie, Japan. This is the first time a Japanese manufacturer has used this technology in a full production environment, according to Jenoptik Infab, the fab automation contractor. Says Toshihko Osada, Fujitsu`s general manager in its Manufacturing Engineering Division: "Minienvironments are not being used in Japan, but the concept makes sense to us. We are not even considering open cassettes when it c

01/01/1998  Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. recently authorized a multimillion-dollar upgrade of its electronics specialty gas facility in Hometown, PA. Scheduled for completion by the end of 1998, the upgrade will enhance procedures for manufacturing five ultra high-purity semiconductor processing gases -- hydrogen chloride, boron trichloride, ammonia, hydrogen bromide and chlorine. Facility improvements are being made in key areas such as residual gas treatment, cylinder reconditioning and the comprehens

01/01/1998  The robotic front-end buffer systems manufactured by Equipe Technologies, Inc. has earned users certification from the International 300 mm Initiative (I300I), a global consortium directing the semiconductor industry`s shift to larger wafers. Three companies, whose 300 mm wafer processing tools incorporate the components, achieved I300I compliance using Equipe`s ABM400 series robotic arm, its PRE300 series wafer pre-aligner and TRA series single-axis tracks with ESC series controllers. I300I tes

12/01/1997  A cleanroom-compatible excimer laser from Lambda Physik, Inc. -- The NovaLine 100 -- will be showcased at MD&M. The high-power excimer laser, used in applications including high-speed PCB via drilling, wire stripping and component marking, delivers 100 W of stabilized output power, 400 mJ of pulse energy, and a 250 Hz repetition rate at 248 nm. It takes up a minimum amount of floor space. The company will also showcase its NovaLine LITHO -- an economic excimer laser for 248-nm lithography. The l

12/01/1997  AIO Corp. (Fremont, CA) was awarded three patents for its Sonic Fog IPA substrate drying technology, a liquid phase IPA drying system. The semiconductor, disk drive and flat panel display industries use the system to completely dry substrates from sizes ranging from 50 mm wafers to 0.5 sq. m. glass panels. -- LAK

11/01/1997  Mesa, AZ -- A "virtual fab" computer-based training course is now available for interactive training of semiconductor fab personnel in cleanroom protocols and wafer fab technology.

11/01/1997  300 mm technology is changing the industry. While it`s not necessarily causing an Industrial Revolution in semiconductor wafer manufacturing, it`s a historical event. But it brings with it a set of challenges to be borne by everyone in the industry.

11/01/1997  The new KA300 from Fluoroware is a light 300 mm wafer cassette that is designed to be a transport cassette in Japan and a transitional cassette for other chip manufacturers worldwide. It incorporates all SEMI standard 2471 automation interface criteria including, ± 0.5 mm wafer plane precision, kinematic coupling as the primary equipment interface, 10 mm wafer spacing and a 6 mm wafer lift zone. It weighs 980 grams without wafers and 2605 grams when it is at full capacity of 13 wafers. The K

10/01/1997  SpeedFam International, Inc.`s new 136,000-sq. ft., state-of-the-art corporate headquarters is now open. A major feature is a laboratory to support CMP (chemical mechanical polishing) development, semiconductor device cleaning, disk polishing, silicon wafer processing, and applied R&D. Class 10,000, 1,000 and 10 cleanroom labs, a dedicated software development lab, reliability testing, and training areas for tools have also been incorporated into the facility. Also included are five tool bays fo

10/01/1997  GaSonics International`s Performance Enhancement Platform (PEP) 3510C system for advanced post-etch residue removal applications has been qualified by Motorola`s Advanced Product Research and Development Lab (APRDL) in Austin, TX, for sub-0.25 micron CMOS technology. The effort was the result of a joint GaSonics/ Motorola project to determine the feasibility of the PEP 3510C system for advanced post-etch residue removal applications, including post-polysilicon and post-metal etch residue removal

10/01/1997  Mosel Vitelic`s new $1.5 billion, eight-inch semiconductor fab, using manufacturing technology from Siemens, is expected to start production of 64-M dynamic random access memory (DRAM) devices in mid-1997. A joint venture, the fab, which is located in Hsinchu`s Science-Based Industrial Park, will produce the devices using 0.35 µm geometries. Initially designed to produce 20,000 wafers per month, the fab`s capacity will be expanded to 40,000 wafers per month, including production of 256-M DRA

10/01/1997  TECNOL Medical Products, Inc. has received permission from the FDA to market its PFR95 Particulate Filter Respirator and Surgical Mask with FluidShield Protection as a medical device. The clearance means that the PFR95 meets the Center for Disease Control guidelines for tuberculosis exposure control. Previously marketed as an N95 respirator approved by NIOSH, the FDA clearance expands the range of health care applications for which the PFR95 is appropriate and its total available market, says a

10/01/1997  The last major construction phase of Hyundai Electronics America`s wafer fab, hard drive manufacturing, and office facilities for its MaxMedia Division, located in San Jose, is underway. Begun in August, 1996, the project proceeded on a highly accelerated, ten-month schedule, which is being executed by McCarthy, the design/build firm on the project. The facility houses three buildings for manufacturing 3 1/2-inch computer disks. Building A is a 75,000-sq. ft. computer disk fabrication facility h

10/01/1997  At SEMICON/West, PRI Automation, Inc. announced the industry`s first 300 mm wafer fab automated material handling solution. According to the company, PRI`s product set provides process-tool-to-process-tool material transport and loading, addressing the full range of 300 mm material-handling requirements throughout the fab, including interbay, intrabay, and front-end tool automation. Accompanying the new system is an integrated suite of software products for scaleable solutions to meet individual