Andrew,
Regarding SVGI, I would appreciate your comments on the post exchange2000.com generally. The post also cites today's Wall Street Journal (I didn't read it) which stating that Intel does not intend on deviating from its "copy exact" policy.
Regarding SVGI's vertical furnace technology:
SVG Introduces Rapid Vertical Furnace for 300 mm processing
Evolutionary Tool Offers Significant Process and Cost-of-Ownership Advantages for a Wide Range of Semiconductor Thin Film Applications
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 13, 1998-- Silicon Valley Group Inc. (NASDAQ:SVGI - news), a leading supplier of wafer processing systems to the worldwide semiconductor industry, today unveiled its Thermco Division's new RVP-300 Series rapid vertical processing (RVP) system -- a production-ready 300 mm tool with process capabilities covering a wide range of atmospheric and low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) films.
Based on the company's field-proven AVP/RVP product platform, the RVP-300 Series offers chipmakers the cost-of-ownership and productivity advantages of a batch wafer processing system, while delivering uniformity and temperature control on par with today's leading-edge, single-wafer rapid thermal processing (RTP) tools.
According to Thermco Division President Jeff Kowalski, SVG's ability to transfer its time-tested and proven thermal technology platforms for advanced applications in the 300 mm era gives customers a valuable market advantage. ''As chipmakers transition to 300 mm production, cost of ownership and reliability become more critical to success than ever before. The significant capital investment needed to transition into this new production era leaves no room for costly ramping of new, unproven processing equipment,'' said Kowalski.
To deliver its breakthrough performance for sub-quarter micron processing requirements, the RVP-300 Series leverages advanced temperature sensing and control technologies. This includes the revolutionary Clairvoyant model-based temperature control (MBTC) technology, which enables superior process uniformity within the wafer and across the load.
The RVP-300 Series also features SVG's proprietary FastRamp(R) technology, which ramps temperature up at a rate of 100 degrees C per minute and down at a rate of 50 degrees C per minute. Providing slip-free wafer processing, FastRamp technology addresses the limited thermal budgets associated with larger substrates by drastically reducing cycle times.
As a result of these performance features, the system is the first to demonstrate arsenic-doped TEOS (tetraethylorthosilicate) film deposition on 300 mm wafers. In addition, the RVP-300 Series offers
reduced chemical consumption through a proprietary, highly efficient delivery system that uses one-tenth the doping chemicals of competitive delivery systems. This reduction in consumables provides chipmakers with significant cost-of-ownership advantages for volume production of advanced films, as well as excellent control over film thickness and doping uniformity.
''With production units of the RVP-300 Series already in the field, SVG is the industry leader in 300 mm thermal processing capability. A high-throughput, batch processing system, the RVP-300's design is based on field-proven hardware and software reliability,'' Kowalski continued. ''These system attributes put the RVP-300 Series at the forefront of the vertical furnace market, which analysts anticipate will surpass $1.5 billion by 2001.''
SVG reports that it shipped multiple RVP-300 Series systems to a major DRAM manufacturer during the first quarter of calendar 1998. The company currently has three RVP-300 Series tools' in full operation in its Thermco Division's applications lab, located in San Jose. These systems are available to customers for joint development programs and demonstrations. The tools process capabilities include thermal oxidation, anneals, nitrides, polysilicon, doped-polysilicon, TEOS oxides and doped TEOS oxide. |
