IC market in 'first phase' of recovery, says Applied CEO
By Mark LaPedus
Semiconductor Business News
(07/22/02 07:15 p.m. EST)
SAN FRANCISCO -- The semiconductor industry remains in the early stages of a gradual recovery, but there are signs of the first “capacity buys” for select tools in the marketplace, according to the top executive of Applied Materials Inc.
James Morgan, chairman and CEO for Applied Materials, also remains upbeat about the future of the IC industry in spite of the current semiconductor downturn and economic woes in the world.
“We think there is a great, long-term future in the [semiconductor] industry,” Morgan declared. “The first phase of a recovery is beginning. Inventories are down. There is also a shortage of capacity at 0.13-micron,” Morgan said during a press event at the Semicon West trade show here today.
Morgan defined the “first phase” of an IC recovery, when capital spending is up and fabs are running at 90% utilization. “Phase one is when chip makers are moving towards tighter geometries,” he said.
There are also signs of what he called the “second phase” of an IC recovery, that is, when IT spending increases and chip makers begin to make “capacity buys” instead of the usual “technology buys” for tools in the marketplace.
IT spending has been “dormant,” but there are some “capacity buys,” especially for 300-mm tools at the 130-nm node, he said. Capacity buys remain on a “customer by customer basis,” he said.
But in a brief interview with SBN, Morgan did say that the vast majority of today's tool procurements are “technology buys,” that is, 300-mm tools based on copper-interconnects, low-k, and other leading-edge technologies.
The Applied CEO also remains bullish about China and its exploding semiconductor market. “What's different is that [China] is reaching critical mass,” he said. |
