Bob,
Somehow I missed this message on July 4th.
1. I'll vote for annexation only if I can trade my Canadian $ for US$ on a 1:1 basis. :-) Just call it a slight takeover premium. If the slide continues much longer, we can just send you a batch to use as topsoil.
2. Stories that you posted were superb. I can't believe that this information or the Samsung intent is priced into SVGI. Papken needs to change the name so that the I in SVGI stands for Internet.
July 1, 1998
Samsung keeps process R&D humming
By Jack Robertson
SEOUL, South Korea--Despite South Korea's ongoing economic crisis,
Samsung Semiconductor doesn't seem to be slowing down in its drive to
develop new process technology for building new generations of parts.
For example, it is now planning to use SVG Lithography's Micrascan-IV,
a 193-nanometer step-and-scan tool, to make 4-gigabit DRAMs after the
turn of the century, Yoon-Woo Lee, president of the group, said in an
interview.
Samsung has already demonstrated 0.13-micron feature-size technology
that will be needed for the 4-Gbit memory chip. That was done by
pushing existing 248-nanometer deep-UV lithography to the limit, Lee
said. It was able to do this through the use of new phase-shift masks and
optical techniques, he noted. Production of 4-Gbit chips with a
0.13-micron feature size, however, will require a new 193-nm laser tool
that is still in development.
The South Korean chip maker has been helped in this technology by
being a member of a consortium that now has the only full-field-of-view
193-nm lithography system in the industry, Lee said. Members of this
group include SVGL and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Samsung has contributed more than $10 million to the consortium's
development effort, Lee added.
The Samsung executive expected the first prototype 4-Gbit DRAM to be
built in about 2002 and engineering samples available in 2005. "[But] as
fast as this technology is moving, the [4-Gbit DRAM] timetable could be
moved up," Lee asserted.
For now, though, Samsung is keeping its lithography options open for the
4-Gbit generation. The Korean chip maker is also talking with Lucent
Technologies Inc. about that firm's Scalpel direct-write electron-beam
lithography system, Lee said. "But it looks as if that technology won't be
needed until we reach 0.10-micron feature sizes," he added. "We also are
still looking at Extreme Ultraviolet, and have had discussions with Intel
[the EUV development leader]."
and from the second URL that you posted...
...
In Wilton, Conn., SVG Lithography is working hard to balance its
aggressive production build-up of DUV step-and-scan tools with soft
market conditions. It remains on a course to have the production capacity
in place to ship 100 Micrascan systems by year's end, and 200 by 1999,
said John J. Shamaly, corporate vice president of marketing for San
Jose-based SVG.
"We have all of the brick and mortar in place and we have worked on
having critical inventory [such as glass lenses] in place to do 200 a year,"
Shamaly said. "When you shoot for 200, you have to be able to make
adjustments for the peaks and valleys. When customers want tools, they
will want them in [just] a few months, and we must have enough
[backlog] to accommodate that situation."
SVG, like many fab-equipment suppliers, has already reduced its
workforce and selectively trimmed operating expense as it waits for an
upturn. Shamaly said that he hoped to see a turnaround within the next
several quarters.
...
and from the third URL you posted:
...
San Jose-based Silicon Valley Group Inc. aims to launch its 300-mm tool
in the second half of 1999.
Schedules for these 300-mm programs are jelling now for a variety of
reasons. To begin with, equipment vendors are beginning to see demand
for existing 200-mm tools starting to cool off due to the latest round of
delays in wafer fab expansion projects and new plant investments.
...
"They are also very busy with the other part of the current development
phase - 193- nanometer technology," the analyst added. "This is needed
for the next generation of critical dimensions [CDs], no matter if the tools
are 200- or 300-mm systems."
The tricky task of juggling developments in process shrinks and the larger
wafers is complicating the movement of lithography tools to the 300-mm
format. Most lithography suppliers plan to offer a wide variety of options
on their first 300-mm production tools. This would include the ability to
start out with 200-mm wafer diameters and then retrofit gear for 12-inch
silicon processing. SVG's lithography unit will even offer an option to go
the other way: retrofitting a 300-mm system to run 200-mm wafers, if a
chip maker decides after taking delivery that it needs to handle both sizes.
"We are targeting the 130-nm technology node [for 0.13-micron feature
sizes] for 300-mm product introduction," said John J. Shamaly, vice
president of marketing at SVG in San Jose. "We know [that] to do
130-nm, you are going to need step-and-scan technology,
focus-on-the-fly, and optics for dual overlays at 130-nm and below. You
will also need a combination of electrical probers and SEMs
[scanning-electron microscopes] to directly test the performance of the
machines. SEM metrology alone will not be enough," he added.
SVG also intends to cluster its 300-mm scanners with lithography track
systems that work closely with exposure tools and handle reticles during
wafer fabrication. SVG is making changes to its basic platform to
increase 300-mm wafer throughput.
Lithography system throughput is a critical issue in the transition to larger
wafer sizes. With a 300-mm wafer expected to contain at least 2.5 times
more chips than a 200-mm wafer, steppers and scanners will have to
speed the exposure of individual dies to realize the productivity gains
needed to justify the higher price tags on 12-inch equipment.
... |
