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To: Duker who wrote (3791)	1/5/2000 1:25:00 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 5867

Capital Equipment boom, how big will it be? semibiznews.com

To: Duker who wrote (3791)	1/5/2000 4:12:00 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 5867

UMC readies 0.13-micron process By Will Wade EE Times (01/05/00, 02:03:51 PM EDT) SUNNYVALE, Calif. ( ChipWire) -- UMC Group expects to have a 0.13-micron manufacturing process ready for commercial production early next year, and is telling customers they can begin designs using the advanced line width this quarter. With UMC and foundry rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) engaged in a game of public one-upmanship in terms of both technology and capacity expansion plans, UMC claimed it would be in production with a 0.13-micron process well before TSMC. And TSMC at this point is not claiming otherwise. "For advanced designs, it is now time to engage at the 0.13-micron level," said James Kupec, head of worldwide marketing and sales for UMC. "We will be ready for commercial production early in 2001." The UMC process will support copper interconnect technology throughout the chip, and although Kupec said the company will also offer aluminum wiring as an alternative, he expects to see more and more chip companies embracing the faster metal. "At that node, copper really becomes cost competitive," he said. Looking further down the road, UMC will also begin developing this year a 0.10-micron process, which could be ready to roll out sometime in 2002. The company's aggressive technology road map places it some two quarters ahead of TSMC. A spokesman for TSMC, the world's largest foundry, said TSMC's current plans call for beta testing a 0.13-micron process in the first quarter of next year, with commercial readiness likely to follow three to six months later. There is no official schedule yet for a 0.10-micron process at TSMC. UMC is clearly setting its sights on TSMC's spot atop the foundry food chain. "Our revenue and our market share have really climbed in the past few years," said Kupec. "We expect to overtake TSMC soon, perhaps sometime this year." The company saw revenue of $1.75 billion last year, and is currently projecting sales of $2.5 billion this year. UMC claims it captured some 30% of the overall foundry market in 1999, compared with 35% for TSMC. The semiconductor industry is in an upswing this year, and the foundries are hoping to cash in on the surge. The main limiting factor will be manufacturing capacity. TSMC recently completed the acquisition of Acer Group's chip-making arm, Acer Semiconductor Manufacturing Inc., in order to increase capacity. Although UMC has no acquisition plans on the burner, the company will spend $2.1 billion this year and $2.9 billion in 2001 to equip two new 300-mm plants, one in Japan and one in Taiwan. "We are the only company in the world now with two 300-mm projects in the works," said Kupec. The Japan site should deliver its first production wafers next year, and the Taiwan facility will be about a year behind that schedule. "Everything right now is limited by capacity," he said.