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

10/01/1997  At SEMICON/West, PRI Automation announced it had added two additional buildings to its current facility at its corporate headquarters in Billerica, MA. The buildings, expected to be completed this month, were acquired for use as additional manufacturing space and to house a state-of-the-art demonstration and testing facility for the company`s 300 mm wafer handling solutions. The two buildings will bring PRI`s total space to more than 37,000 sq. ft., an increase of approximately 20 percent. Becau

10/01/1997  PRI Automation, Inc. has been awarded a second patent for its Virtual Cassette technology, the only system capable of transferring wafers from carrier to cluster tool without reorienting them, according to the company. Entitled "Straight Line Wafer Transfer System," the patent covers a version of PRI`s Virtual Cassette designed for cluster tools. Efficient batch wafer transfer capability provided by the Virtual Cassette is crucial for the use of Front Opening Unified Pods and open cassettes, bot

10/01/1997  PRI Automation (Billerica, MA) has received a multi-million dollar order from Japanese-owned Matsushita Semiconductor Corp. of America (MASCA) for its interfloor wafer transport systems. The systems -- wafer stockers, horizontal transfer mechanisms, and a reticle stocker -- will be installed by late 1997 in MASCA`s newest 200 mm wafer fab currently under construction in Puyallup, WA. The order is for Phase One of a multi-phase automation project for which MASCA asked bidders to map out an automa

10/01/1997  Through a joint partnership, the Welsh Development Agency (WDA) and Modis Training Technologies, Inc. (MTT), Mesa, AZ, have opened a 20,000 sq. ft. training facility in Newport, Wales, offering courseware to enhance the skills required for new wafer fabrication personnel to perform successfully in an ultra cleanroom environment. The WDA took the initiative in putting the center together in response to the need for a central training facility providing trained employees to the many semiconductor

10/01/1997  Lepco, Inc. (Houston, TX) has opened a permanent office in Manila to service the high technology industries located in the Pacific Rim. The move coincides with the company`s recent completion of several large-scale projects in the area. Lepco provides engineering, construction, testing, and support services for wafer fabs and cleanrooms, including complex mechanical systems, process support systems, tool move-in and fit-up. -- SES

10/01/1997  Santa Clara, CA -- Several new conference programs, an expanded exhibit floor, and a rousing keynote speaker are among the exciting highlights at CleanRooms West `97! From October 20-22, the Santa Clara Convention Center will be transformed into America`s largest contamination control event of the year.

09/01/1997  Implant Center`s new implant processing facility, which recently opened in San Jose, CA, will support high-volume, high-quality and fast-turn contract ion implant operations. The facility uses Class 1 minienvironment processing for 8-inch and beyond wafer fabrication. Class 1 is achieved through module isolation or SMIF micro-environment applications. -- KS

09/01/1997  Steve Yellin is a senior member and immediate past president of the Institute of Environmental Sciences. He has previously served the Institute as fiscal vice president (1992) and as general chair of the 1992 Annual Technical Meeting. Yellin has had over 30 years` experience as a marketing specialist and 26 years as an industrial design consultant, during which he held various management positions on industrial, semiconductor, and biopharmaceutical projects. He currently is managing director of

09/01/1997  In the early days of cleanroom garments and laundries, prior to solid state electronics, the initial need for contamination control stemmed from the launching of the first manned rocket into space -- the Atlas space program, which raised concerns about sensitivity to contamination from hydrocarbon, which would ignite when combined with liquid oxygen, according to Dick Buechsenschuetz, vice president of Alltex Uniform Rental Service in Manchester, NH.

09/01/1997  As CleanRooms magazine celebrates its 10-year anniversary this month, it seems appropriate to take a look back. We`ve come a long way from roots first planted in September 1987, and we`ve witnessed some groundbreaking events in that time, too.

08/01/1997  San Francisco -- Among the hundreds of new products rolled out at Semicon West last month, many had one thing in common -- they targeted the 300 mm semiconductor manufacturing market.

07/01/1997  To produce a quality weld, three parameters should be controlled -- impurity levels in the stainless steel, total welding time and welding gas quality.

07/01/1997  San Francisco, CA -- With the advent of 300 mm technology, semiconductor product suppliers are not sitting still. Semiconductor manufacturers are beginning to see a new series of products and joint ventures to help them make the transition to the 12-inch wafer.

07/01/1997  Ion Systems (Berkeley, CA) is more than doubling the size of its Singapore operations and relocating its regional office to a larger facility. The 103-sq.m. facility will include a repair and service center for local ionizer service and calibration. Ion Systems` customers in Southeast Asia include major disk drive companies such as IBM and Seagate, and TECH, a Singapore-based semiconductor manufacturing joint venture with Texas Instruments, the Singapore Economic Development Board, Canon, and He

07/01/1997  The world`s first 8-in. power semiconductor facility maintains a Class 1 environment aided by SMIF technology.

06/01/1997  Geneva -- Nine pilot lines for 300-mm semiconductor wafer fabrication are expected to be in operation by 1998. The pilot lines are expected to produce 500 to 1,000 wafer starts per month (wsm). Another six pilot lines are expected in 1999 with high volume fabs (about 20,000 wsm) predicted for 2000, according to Dr. George A. Lee, director of the Global 300 mm Initiative. Lee provided an update of the global semiconductor 300 mm transition at Semicon Europa in April.

06/01/1997  U.S. Filter Corp. has announced that its Membralox ceramic membrane filtration modules are now available with PVDF (polyvinylidine fluoride) plastic housings.

06/01/1997  Geneva -- New fabs built between 2000 to 2003 that will use 0.18 to 0.13-micron geometries on 300-mm wafers are estimated to cost $4 billion, predicts Dr. Alessandro Tonti of SGS-Thomson (Agrate, Italy) in a presentation during Semicon Europa in April.

06/01/1997  Cypress Information Resources has announced the availability of the 1997 edition of The International Semiconductor Company Profiles Report -- Manufacturers. The 635-page report details the operations of over 400 wafer-fabrication- based IC companies throughout the world. The report includes information on over 800 company manufacturing sites and over 1,000 support facilities -- detailed information on manufacturing and production, foundry customers and suppliers, financial, facilities, products