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Technology Stocks : General Lithography
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To: robert m evans who wrote (319)5/13/1997 10:44:00 PM
From: Andrew Vance   of 1305
 
I also agree with you. when they dust off the ideas or designs and they indeed work, these devices will then go into full scale production which may require full reticle sets.

You bring up some interesting points though. For specialty circuits that are limited in the amount of devices that are needed, this technology is ideally suited. I do not beleive this type of niche application would adversely affect the reticle makers. It will be a boon to the outfits that implement direct write technology to serve that niche market application. A win-win situation for all concerned.

But your point on prohibitive prototypes to test out new designs or ideas is quite valid and is a stroke of great insight. There are a great deal of small design operations or companies that cannot afford the $50,000+ NREs (Non Recurring Engineering charges) to test out an idea or design. The cost of a direct write wafer would be considerably less. The cost of a reticle set is the makority of the NRE charge from what I know. Once the prototypes are evaluated and determined to work, these devices could conceivably be placed into finished systems for sale to an end user. This would generate a small revenue stream that would allow these type of operations to get the needed letters of credit for volume production. EXCELLENT point on your part. Another win-win situation which opens up new markets and opportunities.

I really can see a situation where a wafer level prototype house or line within an existing fab could meet this type of need. I am very impressed.

Andrew
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