Hi Howie,
My understanding is that the 193nm small field steppers of ISI are
primarily R&D tools to get early learning at 193nm. Granted Intel,
Sematech, ... have these tools, but each will probably only purchase
one of these systems for that sort of work. It is very clear that
scanners will be used for .18um production and ISI doesn't have that
product. So, ISI's short term might look relatively good (servicing
XLS systems, selling some 193nm steppers, ...) but longer term it
appears that they are just a small niche player.
I also have concerns about the long term viability of even SVGL. As
Nikon, ASML, Canon come in with their 248/193 scanners, things could
change very quickly due to reliability and technical issues with
SVGL.
BTW, this looks to be a very interesting thread !!
Yousef |
