U.S. Commerce objects to Infineon participating in EUV litho consortium
By Jack Robertson, Semiconductor Business News
Jun 2, 2000 (8:26 AM)
URL: semibiznews.com
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Department of Commerce is challenging the admission of Infineon Technologies AG into the EUV LLC consortium, charging it gives the German chip maker early access to next generation lithography data developed at U.S. National Laboratories. SBN obtained from independent sources a letter from William Reinsch, undersecretary of Commerce for export administration, asking the Department of Energy to temporarily withdraw its approval of Infineon to join the EUV group. Reinsch said DOE rushed ahead to let the German firm into EUV LLC before an interagency government task force had completed its review. Commerce was opposing the Infineon EUV participation.
Early last month, Munich-based Infineon announced had joined the Extreme Ultraviolet LLC consortium (see May 8 story). Infineon, the former chip division of Siemens AG, is also participating in Europe's Medea project, which is developing ion-projection lithography (IPL) as a potential technology to shrink chip geometries below 70 nanometers (0.07 micron).
Spokespersons for both the Commerce Department and DOE confirmed that Commerce had written to DOE on the Infineon issue, but both declined to discuss its contents. A source said as of today, DOE hadn't yet responded to Reinsch.
The Commerce Department official was critical of admitting foreign chip makers as full EUV LLC partners, gaining complete access to the technology. "[DOE] Secretary Pena had publicly declared several years ago that the EUV LLC Cooperative R&D Agreement (CRADA) was only for American chip makers," the letter said. "Members of Congress were also given the same message that EUV LCC's membership was to be restricted to U.S. companies.
"I recall the origins of the EUV program. The aim was to position U.S. companies to lead and hopefully dominate international markets with next-generation semiconductor manufacturing equipment and semiconductor chips. IT is an American program with global implications, not a global program that was started with international sponsors," said Reinsch's letter.
"If the rules of the game are to be changed to admit foreign companies as partners, then at a minimum those new partners should make investments that are at least commensurate with the value of the technology that has been created to date."
Reinsch charged that Infineon is making a minimal $10 million investment in EUV LLC and will receive full technology data for this nominal sum. Moreover, he claimed Intel Corp., the leading sponsor of EUV LCC, is seeking to admit other foreign chip makers into the consortium.
"Infineon receives access to intellectual property on EUV technology at a fraction of the estimated $300 million that has been invested in the development of the technology by American companies, the U.S. government and the U.S. taxpayers," said Reinsch's letter.
The latest flap on foreign membership in EUV LCC comes a year after a similar dispute surrounded the participation of ASM Lithography in the program. However, Reinsch said ASML, based in the Netherlands, was approved only after the firm agreed to share its EUV research being developed as part of a European Union program, and to build major facilities in the U.S.
"Infineon should be prohibited from placing its researchers at DOE's national nuclear weapons and multi-purpose laboratories [working on EUV development]," the letter said. Reinsch alluded to the security problems at DOE National Labs with transfer of sensitive data to foreign sources.
The Department Commerce official also asserted, "In addition, Infineon should be required to buy a fixed number of EUV production machines from factories sited in the U.S."
Jim |
