PRI Automation Announces New Combination Reticle Stocker
-- Innovative Product Provides High Capacity Storage with Quick Access for Improved Reticle Management --
BILLERICA, Mass., Oct. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- PRI Automation, Inc. (Nasdaq: PRIA - news), the leader in semiconductor factory automation, today announced availability of the Combination Reticle Stocker. The Combination Reticle Stocker combines high-density, bare reticle storage with quick access, reticle box and pod storage to improve stepper utilization and more effectively manage reticle inventory.
''Semiconductor manufacturers are looking for ways to improve the productivity of their lithography operations to get a better return on their investment,'' said Mitch Tyson, president and chief executive officer of PRI Automation. ''The Combination Reticle Stocker brings two proven reticle storage methods together into a single system that will increase throughput and make lithography a more productive part of the overall manufacturing process.''
''The Combination Reticle Stocker offers customers the benefits of both a bare reticle stocker and a box or pod stocker,'' noted Tom McNabb, vice president of PRI's lithography business unit. ''It saves expensive floorspace in the lithography bay by providing the high-density storage environment of a bare reticle stocker and the fast access to pre-kitted reticles of a pod or box stocker. As a result, fewer stockers and reticle carriers are needed which helps to reduce reticle storage footprint, lower cost, and improve the management of reticle inventory.''
''Lithography sets the pace for overall factory throughput. Every minute a stepper sits idle because it doesn't have the right reticle is lost revenue opportunity for the manufacturer,'' continued Tyson. ''And too often, wafer lots are left waiting at the lithography tool while an operator looks for the right reticle.''
Three key trends are driving manufacturers to look for ways to automate more of the material handling inside the lithography bay. First, the cost of lithography tools, already the most expensive component of semiconductor manufacturing, is going up. Tool manufacturers estimate that next generation 193nm and 157nm critical layer lithography tools could exceed $10 million each. Secondly, device complexity is increasing as manufacturers design smaller feature sizes and more functionality into chips resulting in more lithography steps and more reticles in each complete reticle set. Finally, the cost of reticles is also on the rise. Each 20+ reticle set contains non- critical layer and critical layer reticles. A simple pad mask may cost $2,000, but a critical layer phase shift reticle can cost upwards of $20,000 today and may reach as high as $50,000 for next generation designs. In some cases, this could push the cost of a complete reticle set to over $1,000,000.
PRI is addressing these challenges with a growing set of lithography automation solutions designed to increase the utilization of expensive lithography tools. Today's announcement addresses the critical components of storing and managing the increasing number of reticles that will be required to produce current and next generation chips.
The Combination Reticle Stocker can be configured to store up to 5,000 bare reticles and up to 400 reticles stored in industry standard pods or boxes. Less frequently used reticles are archived in the bare reticle side of the Combination Reticle Stocker until they are needed for production. A reticle-handling robot on the bare reticle side gently places a reticle into a carrier and closes the carrier. Another robot on the pod or box side takes the carrier and moves it to a storage shelf or delivers it to the operator I/O. The pod or box side permits pre-kitting, ensuring that reticles are available to the operator when required.
The Combination Reticle Stocker integrates with PRI's AeroTrak(TM) overhead monorail system, permitting reticle delivery to the lithography bay from anywhere within the fab. This offers an additional space saving benefit, because reticle stockers no longer need to be located within the lithography bay.
The Combination Reticle Stocker can be integrated with PRI's TransNet(TM) Reticle Management System (TRMS) for complete reticle lifecycle management. The TRMS is a fab-wide, Web-enabled software control system that manages usage, kitting and unkitting, delivery and maintenance of reticles. The TRMS can also integrate configurable business rules for optimized inventory control. For example, fabs can establish rules that require reticle cleaning after a defined number of uses. The TRMS tracks the number of times a reticle is used and once the limit number is reached, the TRMS locks out further uses until cleaning is performed. The TRMS can be used standalone with single or multiple stockers, or it can be integrated with fab CIM systems as well as PRI's TransNet MCS.
According to figures released by Dataquest for calendar year 1998, PRI is the leading supplier of automated reticle management systems with over 65% market share. PRI has been shipping reticle management systems since 1991 and has an installed base of over one hundred systems. The new Combination Reticle Stocker has been installed at several leading semiconductor manufacturers and PRI has orders for additional systems currently in production.
About PRI Automation
PRI Automation, Inc., headquartered in Billerica, Massachusetts, is the leading global supplier of advanced factory automation systems and software that optimize the productivity of semiconductor and precision electronics manufacturers as well as OEM process tool manufacturers. PRI is the only company to provide a tightly integrated and flexible hardware and software solution that optimizes the flow of products, data, materials and resources throughout the production chain. The company has thousands of systems installed at approximately one hundred locations throughout the world. For more information visit PRI online at www.pria.com.
TransNet and AeroTrak are trademarks of PRI Automation, Inc.
SOURCE: PRI Automation, Inc.
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