Yes, the lawsuit still has to go to more stages before we know what benefits will come. A jury in the end will decide the penalty. I doubt they will bankrupt the company, so you have to wonder how much GS could pay.
I just read an interesting article about the use of masks to delay capital equipment purchases. This could work for the front end, but it won't change the fact that if dimensions shrink on DRAM, they need new equipment for yield repair.
If you don't know her, Katherine makes very interesting comments.
Regards,
Mark
To: Andrew Dobson (7091 )
From: Katherine Derbyshire Wednesday, Oct 7 1998 3:57PM ET
Reply # of 7107
Photomask companies are actually doing pretty well now, relatively speaking. They'll also benefit from added utilization. DUV laser companies are tied to stepper purchases, so they won't pick up until exposure tools do.
Switching from i-line to DUV is pretty complicated, requiring all kinds of new gas lines, resist processing systems, and environmental controls. You'll see some upgrades, but the big DUV boom won't happen until new construction picks up. Lead time for exposure tools is pretty long, though, so orders might pick up before other process tools do.
As a paper at the BACUS photomask symposium explained it, people who can't afford to buy steppers spend lots of money on masks in order to shrink with existing equipment. People who can afford steppers upgrade the exposure tool, simplifying the mask. (Besides being cheaper, a simpler mask has a shorter lead time.) That makes high end masks, especially phase shift, somewhat counter-cyclical.
More details at
news.semiconductoronline.com
Katherine
|
