From today's Interactive WSJ:
Chip Makers Appear Near Switch
To Bigger, Higher-Capacity Wafer
interactive.wsj.com
Excerpt:
After several false starts, the semiconductor industry is moving cautiously into a new era.
Makers of computer chips are stepping up efforts to begin processing silicon wafers that are 300 millimeters in diameter. Those wafers, roughly 12 inches across, hold the promise of a big productivity boost: for 30% to 40% more in processing costs, they can yield 2.5 times more chips per wafer than the current 200-millimeter variety, also known as 8-inch wafers.
That historic conversion -- expected to trigger about $35 billion in spending on new factories over several years -- may be heavily influenced by a trade-show opening here Monday. About 70,000 people are expected to attend the Semicon West event, many of them to kick the tires on a new generation of 300-millimeter manufacturing tools.
Applied Materials </pj/q-quote.cgi?sym=amat&type=company> Inc., the Santa Clara, Calif., company that is the largest equipment maker, will announce a line of 21 new machines that handle the new wafers. ASM Lithography Holding </pj/q-quote.cgi?sym=asml&type=company> NV, a Netherlands company that specializes in machines used to define chip circuitry, also is expected to unveil its 300-millimeter technology.
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