Trecenti Begins 300mm Wafer Mass Production
Trecenti Technologies, Inc, has begun volume production of a 300mm wafer process with a monthly 2,000-wafer base.
The joint venture, between Hitachi Ltd of Japan and United Microelectronics Corp (UMC) of Taiwan, has recently shipped two kinds of SRAM and two kinds of logic chip to customers, manufactured using the 0.18micron process. The fab line, installed with single-wafer process equipment, has a monthly capacity of 7,000 wafers. The building is suitable for the installation of equipment for four lines, bringing potential capacity up to 28,000 wafers per month.
Toshio Nohara, president of the firm says, "We have not received any orders for 0.13micron chips yet, but we have a process capability of 0.13micron design rule, as well as copper Damascine and low-k material processes."
The fully-automated line provides a short time-to-market - half or one third that of conventional 200mm processes - because fewer wafers are processed. 300mm wafers are so heavy that all wafers are accommodated in FOUP, or mini-environment, cassettes with the automatic transfer system.
The new fab line measures 6,000m 2 . The foundry also began 0.13micron copper process in May 2001.
(June 2001 Issue, Nikkei Electronics Asia) |
