Tuesday January 6, 2:24 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
Deposition/Etch Semiconductor Equipment on Track for
300-mm Transition says The Information Network
WILLIAMSBURG, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 6, 1998--Semiconductor processing equipment for
deposition and etching thin films on 300-mm silicon wafers is on track in the development timeframe,
according to the report Applied Materials: Competing For World Dominance, recently published by The
Information Network, a Williamsburg, VA-based market research company.
''Deposition and etch equipment will be ready for evaluation this summer by the International 300-mm
Initiative (I300I) consortium, based in Austin, Tex.,'' notes Dr. Robert N. Castellano, President of The
Information Network. ''Companies such as Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT - news), Lam Research
(NASDAQ: LRCX - news), Novellus (NASDAQ: NVLS - news), Watkins-Johnson (NYSE: WJ - news),
and Genus (NASDAQ: GGNS - news) will benefit from strong development efforts to have these tools
ready. However, delays in other critical processing tools, such as ion implant, lithography, CMP, and
measurement and inspection will probably delay the transition to 300-mm wafers by up to six months''.
''Although we predict a growth of 13.7% in semiconductor equipment in 1998, the delay will impact
revenue growth in 1999,'' notes Dr. Castellano.
Because of the economic turmoil in Asia, 1998 will be a repeat of 1997 on a quarterly basis, except for
a near doubling in equipment revenue growth rate over 1997 (13.7% versus 8.2%). Revenues will show
an upswing beginning in the second half of 1998 and continue through 2001. However, Q1 and Q2 of
1998 will show some slower earnings until the Asian turmoil works itself out, points out Dr. Castellano.
''Asian countries are hungry for market share. If problems in South Korea lengthen, companies in
Taiwan and elsewhere will take up the slack. Companies in Taiwan have built 20 new 200-mm fabs in
the past three years and have announced plans to spend $40 billion more over the next eight years on
new facilities, including some of the world's first 300-mm fabs. We anticipate that any slowdown in
Korea in purchases of consumer products utilizing semiconductors, primarily PCs, will be countered by
insatiable demand in mainland China,'' says Dr. Castellano.
The Information Network is a leading consulting and market research company addressing the
semiconductor, computer, and telecommunications industries. |
