Applied 'reviewing' plan to shut down e-beam tool operation, sources say
By Mark LaPedus, Semiconductor Business News
Mar 11, 2002 (11:48 AM)
URL: siliconstrategies.com
SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Applied Materials Inc. is reportedly evaluating a plan to pull the plug on its electron-beam mask-writer business after a series of setbacks, product delays and lost opportunities in the market, according to several sources in the industry.
Although executives from Applied declined to comment, sources indicated that the company is reportedly "reviewing" a plan to shutter the e-beam portion of its troubled Etec Systems subsidiary. Based in Hayward, Calif., Etec is the world's largest supplier of e-beam tools in terms of market share, according to analysts.
No decision has been made about the fate of Etec's e-beam operation--yet, sources said. But a final decision is expected within the next month, possibly next week, sources added. Santa Clara, Calif.-based Applied does not plan to shut down Etec's pattern-generation equipment operation, according to sources.
In addition to the reported review of Etec, Applied has also quietly reshuffled the executive management team at the e-beam operation. Howard Neff, president of Etec and executive vice president of Applied, is no longer running the subsidiary, it was also learned.
Neff has been replaced by Moris Kori, the new general manager of Etec. Neff, who is still an executive vice president at Applied, said he has moved from Etec to the company's corporate offices as part of a planned "transition."
Contacted at his office at Applied, Neff declined to comment on the status of Etec. "I am off working on another project," Neff said. "I can't comment on Etec," he said.
Asked to comment if Applied was "reviewing" the fate of Etec, Frank Abboud, vice president and general manager of the Electron Beam Products Group at Etec, said in a brief phone interview: "No comment."
Indeed, the fate of Etec's e-beam group remains unclear, due to ongoing delays and poor sales with its new mask-writer tool, sources said.
In 2000, Applied entered the e-beam business by acquiring Etec in a stock-swap deal reportedly worth $1 billion. Etec is the world's largest e-beam vendors in terms of install base (see Jan. 12, 2000 story ).
In recent years, however Etec has been losing market share. The company was more than a year late in delivering its next-generation, e-beam system--a move that opened the door for its rivals, such as JEOL, Hitachi, Leica, and Toshiba (see July 27 story ).
The delays have hurt Etec, as the operation "has been losing market share to Toshiba and JEOL," said analyst Cristina Osmena of Needham & Co. in New York.
Last year, Etec finally rolled out its new "eXara" e-beam for 0.10-to-0.07-micron IC processes. Co-developed with industry consortium International Sematech, Etec executives claimed the e-beam is the world's fastest in terms of overall throughput (see Sept. 27 story ).
The company at the time acknowledged it was late to the market for processing masks at the 130-nm (0.13-micron) node, but hoped to regain its footing at the next-generation 90-nm (0.090-micron) node.
But since it was rolled out last year, Etec has shipped only one "eXara" system thus far, reportedly to IBM Corp., sources said. Etec reportedly has two on order, but the company hopes to have at least four on backlog to sustain its R&D costs, sources said.
Sources believe that Etec is still having trouble making the system work, reportedly due to undisclosed technical snags. And the company faces another major problem: photomask shops believe they can extend their current 130-nm mask-writing tools for the 90-nm node--a move that could potentially hurt Etec's efforts to sell its new e-beam in the marketplace, according to analysts.
An official from photomask supplier Photronics Inc. said that the company is still evaluating Etec's eXara machine. But the photomask supplier is currently using e-beam systems from Hitachi Ltd. and Toshiba Corp., according to the company.
Another major photomask supplier, DuPont Photomask Inc., is using e-beams from JEOL, Toshiba, and other suppliers--and not Etec.
If Applied were to shutter the e-beam unit, the move would be a major blow for the U.S. chip-equipment industry. Etec--the world's largest e-beam maker in terms of installed base--is the last supplier of these tools based in the United States, according to analysts. The other suppliers are located in Europe and Japan. |
