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Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Proud_Infidel who wrote (32473)	9/14/1999 5:33:00 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 70976

Taiwan's foundries plan rapid ramp to 0.13-micron processes By Mark LaPedus Electronic Buyers' News (09/14/99, 03:52:50 PM EDT) As Taiwan's chip makers begin ramping up their 0.18-micron fab processes, local companies are plotting their strategies to reach the next plateau in semiconductor manufacturing. Already, the island's two wafer foundry rivals, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC) and United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC), are locked in a race to develop next-generation 0.13-micron process technologies and introduce them to the market as early as next year. If executed, the move would put Taiwan's foundry capabilities on a par with Intel Corp., IBM Microelectronics, and others top-tier independent device manufacturers. Not long ago, Taiwan's foundries were considered laggards when it came to advanced processes and were generally two to three generations behind the industry's leading IDMs. Earlier this year, TSMC and UMC moved into the spotlight by offering 0.18-micron geometries, and both are expected to move to 0.15-micron linewidths next. UMC is then looking to bring up its 0.13-micron process technology in the first quarter next year, with production slated for the end of 2000, Peter Chang, the new chief executive of foundry operations for the company, said in an interview with EBN at UMC's Hsinchu headquarters. The company will bring up 0.13-micron production at a new wafer-processing plant in Hsinchu, a facility capable of running 60,000 wafers a month. With the new fab, UMC will boost its overall production of 8-in. wafers from 1.9 million units in 1999, to between 2.4 million to 2.6 million units in 2000, Chang said. Not to be outdone, TSMC, the world's largest foundry concern, plans to bring its 0.13-micron process technology into production by the second quarter 2000, according to F.C Tseng, president of the Hsinchu-based company. At the same time, TSMC plans to boost total production of 8-in. wafers from 1.9 million in 1999 to about 2.7 million in 2000, Tseng said. ebnews.com