You beat me to it by 30 seconds. Looks like PRIA got the INTC 300mm business. Great news.
Ian.
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PRI Automation to Provide Major Semiconductor Producer with 300mm
TransFab Automated Reticle Delivery System System Designed to Enhance
the Productivity of the Fab's Lithography Operations
BILLERICA, Mass., Jul 3, 2001 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- PRI Automation, Inc., (Nasdaq: PRIA), a global leader in semiconductor factory automation systems, software, and services, announced today that a major North American semiconductor manufacturer has purchased the first 300mm TransFab(TM) Automated Reticle Delivery System (ARDS). PRI is the leading provider of lithography automation solutions and the ARDS is the next step in providing manufacturers with products that will improve the throughput in lithography bays of highly automated 300mm fabs. PRI is the only company to offer a complete ARDS solution, including an integrated bare reticle stocker, SMIF pod stockers, an overhead hoist transport (OHT) system, and the control software needed to manage the flow of resources both within and outside of the lithography bay.
"Improving the value and efficiency of a fab's lithography operations is very important to manufacturers,
particularly as they transition to the highly automated 300mm manufacturing environment," said John Chrisos, PRI's general manager of Lithography Automation. "Customers know that the challenge of increasing fab productivity goes beyond die shrinks and wafer size. TransFab ARDS helps to meet this challenge by ensuring that the right reticle is delivered to the right stepper at the right time."
TransFab ARDS provides automated delivery of reticles to lithography tools. It connects lithography tools with reticle storage and inspection systems, tracks the location of each reticle within the fab, and manages the reticle inventory via software that gives operators the production status, location, inspection status, and reticle carrier information of each reticle. System components for TransFab ARDS include the AeroLoader IIIRT vehicle and overhead hoist track system, providing transportation of reticle carriers between the stockers and lithography tools; the Guardian Bare Reticle Stocker (BRS) and the Turbo reticle pod stocker, which store the reticles; and the TransNet(TM) Reticle Management Software (TRMS), which provides reticle management capabilities. PRI also provides TransNet material control software (MCS) that coordinates the movement of materials throughout the fab.
When the installation is complete, the ARDS will comprise 12 Guardian(TM) bare reticle stockers, one
Turbo(TM) reticle pod stocker, and 13 AeroLoader(R) IIIRT vehicles. PRI is also providing the same manufacturer with a complete 300mm TransFab unified material handling system that will manage all of the wafer transport and storage requirements in their highly automated manufacturing environment.
ARDS is part of a growing family of lithography automation solutions PRI is developing that will ultimately provide complete reticle and wafer automation within the lithography bay. Traditionally, the lithography bay has been the area that drives overall factory throughput. By completely automating the flow of materials within, and into and out of the lithography bay, manufacturers will improve the overall productivity of their entire fab.
PRI is working closely with the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International organization (SEMI) to outline industry standards to aid in the development of the automated reticle delivery system. PRI will demonstrate the benefits of TransFab ARDS at SEMICON West from July 16-18 in San Francisco. |
