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Technology Stocks : SEMITOOL (SMTL):Is it a hold?
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To: spiny norman who wrote (695)6/7/1998 12:20:00 PM
From: geoffrey Wren  Read Replies (2) of 973
 
All: article about copper in The Economist (6/6). Good explanation of the process for the non-engineer. It is a very bullish article on the process, although they address it at the level of the chipmakers, not the semi-equips. They use the word "revolutionize" several times in the article. The analysis:
Copper is ready to take off, and has even greater a future if used in tandem with improvements in use of low-dialectric-constant (low-k) insulation. Texas Instruments is ahead in designing chips for this tandem.
IBM will use copper at .2 microns, VLSI at .15, others average at .18.
Damascene process will be the method of application.
The methods of keeping copper from leaching into the silicon are proprietary to the chipmakers. Application of some inert layer to protect the silicon can be done with double Damascene process (?).
IBM and Motorola will have copper-based chips in production in September.

I hope I have not mis-stated any of this. It makes you wonder. If Semitool is not selling machines now, when will they? When would IBM and Motorola be buying copper machines if they figure to be in production in September?

BTW, the Yahoo board for Semitool is fairly credible. Someone there reported that AMAT hired Semitool's main copper engineer last year, and figures it will lead to a lawsuit. A lawsuit would be a likely result, but I hate to see small companies taking on large ones in lawsuits, even meritorious ones. They seldom get anywhere.

Geoff Wren
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