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To: Peter Sherman who wrote (3708)	12/6/1999 10:20:00 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 5867

Samsung's Lee predicts 33% increase in chip sales, sees 300-mm production by 2002 By Jack Robertson Semiconductor Business News (12/06/99, 09:26:43 AM EDT) KIHEUNG, South Korea -- Samsung Electronics Co.'s 1999 chip sales are expected to reach $7.1 billion, an increase of 33% over the previous year, according to Yoon Woo Lee, president of Samsung Semiconductors. Memory chips will account for 85% comprised of semiconductor sales, or $6 billion, he said today in a briefing here. The continuing overwhelming portion of chip sales in the memory area is in the face of Samsung's long efforts to boost non-memory semiconductor sales. However, Lee said the non-memory chip sales are growing -- expected to top $1.1 billion this year -- while DRAM, SRAM, and flash sales are increasing as well. Samsung is making a major push to increase its market share of flash memory -- from the current No. 10 world market share in flash to the sixth position next year. Samsung makes NAND flash for memory storage applications, and is only has NOR flash in the R&D stage now, Lee said. Samsung also plans to convert an older 0.25-micron 6-inch Line 6 fab from making DRAMs to start producing SRAMs and flash, he added. Samsung Electronics Co. chip capital investment in 2000 will be about $1.8 billion, nearly the same level as this year, the executive said. He confirmed the investment will equip a new 8-inch Line 10 fab in a new megafab complex being built at Hwasung. He said start production in the third quarter of 2000 using 0.15-micron processing. The new Line 10 fab will have a capacity of 30,000 wafers a month. Also entering production in the first quarter of 2000, with another 30,000 new wafer starts, will be a second stage of Line 9 at Kiheung, also using 0.15-micron design rules. Capital equipment expenditures will also be used to complete converion of all DRAM fabs to 0.18 micron processing next year, with some production starting at 0.15-micron design rules. Lee confirmed that Canon Inc. scanners will be used for 0.15-micron production on the new Line 10. Canon previously had indicated it had an order from Samsung, but couldn't disclose where they would be installed or in production quantities. Lee said the firm will still use multiple lithography vendors in its fabs, including Nikon and ASM Lithography. The Samsung president also said the company next year will expand its 300-mm wafer project to a phase two end-to-end pilot production line. If successful, a phase three initial production of DRAMs would start at the end of 2001 and early 2002. The Samsung semiconductor group also includes flat panel displays, which Lee projected would have $2.2 billion in sales this year. The FPD operations had capital investment of $300 million to $400 million this year and will have an equal amount of capex next year. Lee said this will complete a fourth fab at the firm's Chonan complex. Lee said Samsung has no plans to add any fabs outside Korea. Any need to put a fab in Europe went away when that region agreed to eliminate all its chip tariffs by next year. "Also most of our customers in Europe are U.S. OEMs with plants in the region, who already buy from us," he added.