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To: Jong Hyun Yoo who wrote (3913)	1/24/2000 1:56:00 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 5867

Malaysian startups push ahead to join foundry boom in 2000 Semiconductor Business News (01/24/00, 12:39:43 PM EDT) KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia --With silicon foundry giants in Taiwan and Singapore accelerating expansion plans, two fledgling ventures in Malaysia are now jockeying for position as leading start-up suppliers of wafer-processing services in this country. In separate announcements today, Wafer Technology (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. said it was changing its name to Silterra Malaysia Sdn. Bhd to improve its brand-name identity, while 1st Silicon (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd announced it has completed a key phase of construction in its fab on the island of Borneo. Both foundry startups are aiming to have their Malaysian fabs operational in the second half of 2000. Wafer Technology said the name change will make it easier for foundry customers to link the company with its sales and marketing subsidiary--Silterra, which was formed last spring with an operation located in Sunnyvale, Calif. (see May 11, 1999, story). In May, the startup also announced a foundry alliance with LSI Logic Corp. to gain access to 0.25- and 0.18-micron process technologies for an 8-inch wafer fab being built in Kulim, Malaysia (see May 19, 1999, story). That facility is expected to become operational in the fourth quarter 2000. Meanwhile, 1st Silicon aims to start up its 200-mm (8-inch) fab in the third quarter now that it has completed construction steps to make it watertight. "Reaching watertight status is crucial for our program," said Claudio G. Loddo, chief executive of 1st Silicon, which is constructing the fab in Kuching, in the Malaysian State of Sarawak. "The outer shell of the fab is practically completed. The next step is the coating and sealing of the fab's floors and interior walls, then the ultra-high purity work installation, equipment move-in, and hook-up." Once the 1st Silicon facility is fully operational, the foundry is expected to have the capacity to process 30,000 eight-inch wafers a month. The plant will start production with a 0.25-micron technology for digital and mixed-signal CMOS devices and migrate to 0.18-micron and below processes. Sharp Corp. of Japan has licensed its quarter-micron technology to 1st Silicon for the launch of foundry services (see March 30, 1999, story). Sharp plans to use a "significant portion" of 1st Silicon's capacity with the rest being made available to fabless chip companies. On the Malay Peninsula, Silterra is working to finish its fab for the start of volume production by the first quarter of 2001. The Kulim facility will be ramped into full volume in 2002 with its capacity expected to be 30,000 eight-inch wafer starts a month. "Our goal was to enter [2000] with a focused business strategy and streamlined operations that better position the company to achieve sustainable growth and increase the company's brand awareness," explained Tan Sri Sheriff Kassim, chairman of Silterra. "As the first step to achieving this goal, we felt that changing our name -- to have one consistent name -- was necessary." Silterra said it is currently accepting orders for 0.25- and 0.18-micron ICs, which will initially be fabricated by LSI Logic in Gresham, Ore, under a capacity sharing agreement as part of the licensing pact announced last year. Both Malaysian startups are vying to secure a foothold in the expanding business for wafer-processing services as the foundry business booms. Shortages of processed wafers are beginning to spread as demand grows from fabless chip companies and larger semiconductor houses, which are now shifting more production to third-party manufacturers (see Jan. 20 story). The large established foundry companies are now attempting to accelerate their capacity expansion programs to capture more market share. Singapore's Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Pte. Ltd. last week disclosed plans to double its wafer-processing capacity by the end of 2001 (see Jan. 22 story). Significant expansions are also underway at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC) and United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) in Taiwan.

To: Jong Hyun Yoo who wrote (3913)	1/24/2000 4:18:00 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5867

[World DRAM Price] DRAM Spot Prices Fall to US$7 Level in Two Major Markets nikkeibp.asiabiztech.com

To: Jong Hyun Yoo who wrote (3913)	1/26/2000 10:31:00 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 5867

Taiwan to Rank Third in 200mm Wafer Input January 26, 2000 (TOKYO) -- Taiwan's microchip makers will register 1.45 million units of 200mm wafers in terms of input in the third quarter of 2000 and Taiwan will likely supplant Korea to obtain third place after the United States and Japan, Nikkei Market Access said. This is because Taiwan's semiconductor foundry business is brisk and new process lines have been ramping up production since the latter half of 1999. Microchips are in short supply worldwide because the mobile phone market is growing rapidly. Many companies have started consigning production of chips to Taiwan's foundry fabs to cover shortages. Recent developments in precision technology and wafer size will boost the amount of investments needed in new IC production lines to a level that is too risky for a single company. Also, semiconductor makers are increasingly using Taiwan's foundry fabs to reduce business risks, utilizing them to control the increase of production by adjusting amounts consigned to them. Taiwan's foundry fabs, which boast the world's lowest production costs, are able to increase their output. However, not all IC makers in Taiwan are enjoying top-flight success. Orders tend to concentrate around Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC). Both companies are strengthening their presences by increasing the number of subsidiary companies through acquisition or capital participation. Also, each of the companies is starting up new production lines. They are reportedly planning to invest in new production lines that will handle 300mm wafers. nikkeibp.asiabiztech.com

To: Jong Hyun Yoo who wrote (3913)	1/27/2000 10:40:00 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5867

IBM, Infineon, UMC to develop processes for 0.13- to 0.10-micron ICs Semiconductor Business News (01/27/00, 07:58:35 AM EDT) TAIPEI, Taiwan--IBM Corp., Infineon Technologies AG, and silicon foundry supplier United Microelectronics Corp. today announced plans to jointly develop common process technologies for 0.13- to 0.10-micron logic ICs that can integrate mixed-signal circuitry and embedded DRAM on a single chip. The advanced process generations will include copper interconnect technology. A team of scientists and engineers from all three companies will conduct the development work at IBM's Semiconductor Research and Development Center (SRDC) in the U.S. Details about the first 0.13-micron technology will be made available to customers for the start of chip designs in the second quarter of 2000, said the three companies. The agreement extends through 2003 and brings Taiwan's UMC into an expanded partnership between IBM and Infineon, which have been collaborating in process development since the early 1990s. In 1998, IBM and Infineon--which was then the semiconductor division of Siemens AG--extended their DRAM partnership to include logic and embedded DRAM technologies. "Teaming up with one of the leading foundry providers, UMC, will add even more momentum to this alliance creating what we expect to be a truly exciting logic and embedded memory technology platform for system integration on chip," declared Andreas von Zitzewitz, chief operating officer of Infineon, based in Munich. UMC, based in Hsinchu, will market the joint-developed technologies to silicon foundry customers under the brand name "Worldlogic." For UMC--the world's second largest pure-play silicon foundry supplier--the new alliance is expected to become a powerful weapon in its competition with its largest rival, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC), also based in Hsinchu. Both companies are racing each other to add capacity and next-generation process technologies as the foundry business surges in size over the next couple of years. "With the combined expertise of IBM, Infineon and UMC, we believe that the processes that we jointly develop will represent a new world standard for quality in logic semiconductor manufacturing," said Jim Kupec, president of worldwide marketing and sales for UMC. After the development finish work on each new generation of processes, the companies will have the ability to implement the technologies in their own wafer fabs, under the agreement. The partnership is expectec to benefit from IBM's extensive work in copper and other advanced technologies. "Our efforts in developing leadership chip technologies are widely recognized--this agreement is intended to make them more widely available," said John Kelly, general manager of the IBM Microelectronics Division. "As IBM, Infineon and UMC jointly develop and introduce new manufacturing processes, we believe more customers will apply the technology in their products, secure in the knowledge that they have multiple sources of supply." Infineon also believes the partnership will a help ease barriers for use of next-generation technologies in system-on-chip designs. "We believe that by combining our companies' complementary distinct top core competencies, we will be able to master the challenges of the deepest sub-micron technologies even faster with reduced risk at a reasonable cost per partner," said von Zitzewitz. "Our goal is to consistently provide leading-edge logic and eDRAM technology platforms to our customers."