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

To: SJS who wrote (33325)	11/23/1999 10:06:00 AM
From: Katherine Derbyshire	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 70976

Front-end=wafer processing. Generally a batch process, performing the operation on an entire wafer at once. Back-end=test, assembly and packaging. Generally operates on one chip at a time. Katherine

To: SJS who wrote (33325)	11/24/1999 6:16:00 AM
From: robert b furman	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 70976

Front end creates and makes. Back end tests performance ( 100% ) and packages. As frontend becomes more complex so does backend. Backend players are : Terradyne, Agilent-hwp's recent ipo, and Schlumberger (these produce testers) Cohu, Aetrium,Mcti(these produce test handlers- Cohu dominates market share and leading technology) Other 800 pound gorilla is Advantest (Japanese - they combine both testers and testhandlers)So far they have dominated memory segment. Some feel domestic industry is destined to follow advantest's business model thru merger of test makers and testhandler makers.This group of visionaries includes me<GGG>. Hope this helps. Bob