As penance for discussing a non UTEK topic and for curing chronic insomnia for some other people, I would like to briefly make mention of one emerging technology, Micromachining, in which UTEK will more than likely be the majority player.
The following excerpt is from an article in Electronic News. This is the first time I have come across anything "gangbusters" about MEMS.
Standard Microsystems Corp (SMC) of Hauppauge NY has decided to dedicate its 2.0 micron 4" wafer fab - a fab that has not been substantially renovated since the mid-1980s, and which according to a company spokesman ought to have closed down six years ago - to the production of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS). MEMS are tiny semiconductor-based systems such as sensors, motors and valves for such wide ranging applications as automobile air bags and home blood pressure kits.
......SMC wants to become the MEMS industry equivalent of independent semiconductor manufacturing giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC). "For this, you don't need to be a multi-billion dollar submicron fab," Mr Finke, VP of Marketing, noted. The company's stated mission is to become a key supplier of wafer foundry services to the MEMS industry......
SMC is also in the process of augmenting its equipment, adding specialized process modules. Mr. Finke estimates that 90 percent of the equipment used for the production of MEMS devices is standard at semiconductor fabrication facilities, but 10 percent requires unusual devices. For instance, deep etching equipment such as wet etchers may be necessary, and equipment that bonds wafers together is also common in the MEMS industry but not in the production of pure semiconductors.
Last year, SMC remodeled and expanded its cleanroom, and purchased wet etchers, lithography tools, wet benches and measurement equipment as part of its MEMS foundry thrust. The approximate cost of the renovation was $5 million, far less than it would cost to update its fab to accommodate a 0.35 micron process.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN????
Andrews crystal ball.
First, I am a proponent of ASYST Technologies (ASYT) minienvironment approach to decreasing air borne particulate contamination within existing wafer fabs. I KNOW you can extended the useful life of an existing fab instead of having to build a new facility.
Second, MEMS is micromachining and you are witnessing the first implementation of this technology, that I have come across, in a retrofitted semiconductor wafer manufacturing facility. Therefore, outdated fabs can be recycled into a new industry.
Third, for MEMS you need to use thick films, I believe. Therefore, UTEK will distinguish itself in two ways. It has the largest DOF (Depth of Focus) to allow the greatest process lattitude and is the most cost effective means of utilizing stepper technology for this application. At 2.0 micron, it can be argued that projection aligners and scanners can be used instead. While this is true, as this technology advances, the stepper will be required, so why screw around with a retrofit down the road.
Finally, micromachining is barely out of its infancy so in time, UTEK has the highest probability of cornering this market like it did in the Thin Film Head business.
THIS IS JUST MY CONSIDERED OPINION.
Andrew Vance |
