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Technology Stocks : Cymer (CYMI) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ScotMcI who wrote (24518)	3/21/2000 10:16:00 AM
From: Robert Douglas	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25960

Scot, By the way, why does one sell 20k shares just before going on the road to talk up the company? This does not compute. It's called, "making sure I don't get sued." The only time an insider can sell and be assured that his actions won't be questioned is when he knows that nothing bad is about to happen. As conservative as these guys are, I think they would rather leave a few dollars on the table and stay out of the courtroom. I know I would do the same.

To: ScotMcI who wrote (24518)	3/21/2000 11:01:00 AM
From: WTSherman	Respond to of 25960

<By the way, why does one sell 20k shares just before going on the road to talk up the company? This does not compute.< It could be that with a salary that's less than $400K he can't afford the toys and houses that just about everyone else at the top of a successful semi company can and does buy. Since he still has something like 400,000 shares left I wouldn't take it as a very negative sign. As others have pointed out, for a CEO to sell shares he has to be very confident that nothing is going to go wrong in the near future or else he'll end up spending most of his time make depositions...

To: ScotMcI who wrote (24518)	3/21/2000 12:43:00 PM
From: ScotMcI	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25960

Transcript of Akins' appearance on CNBC Host1: How is business? Akins: Business is doing well, thank you. It's ahead of our own expectations. And being driven primarily, as you discussed earlier in this program by the demand for 0.18 micron leading-edge devices, and beyond. This is where our technology really starts to make a difference in the production of advanced integrated circuits. Host1: So if I'm making .25 and I want to make .18, I need a new laser too, right? Akins: That's correct. We produce a family of lasers, each one with shorter wavelength than the preceding one, and of course the way mother nature has arranged it, the shorter the wavelength of light, the higher the resolution you can attain at the wafer. So these very fine features are being produced by light whose wavelength is very short, far beyond the range of human vision. Host1: Ok, now if I want to work with copper instead of aluminum, do I need a new laser? Akins: In general, copper is being used for the high conductivity, where yo don't have have much room to put the conductor. In that respect, the DUV lithography is patterning copper lines to make the most of them. So think of copper and DUV as complementary technologies, to help to accomplish the big, fast chips that are so necessary for the internet and communications, and so on and so forth. Host1: Right. But do I need a new laser to use copper instead of anything else? Akins: Yes. In fact for every generation, every significant new generation, you need a new laser light source. For for quarter=micron, then for 0.18, then you need another for 0.15 and 0.13. Host1: How about if I'm going from 200 mm to 300 mm disks ? wafers? Akins: In general we don't make a laser which is wafer-size specific, per se. But when you're a chipmaker and you want to go to 300 mm, which has twice the area of a 200 mm, you'd like for the laser light source to produce twice the power so you can still process as many wafers in a given period of time. And we indeed have introduced a laser with twice the power for just that reason. Host1: Ok. So the point of these questions is obvious, I'm trying to figure out what's going to drive growth in the future. And it sounds like you have the same drivers as an Applied has, or anyone else. Akins: That's absolutely correct. I think you've already discussed the fact that historically PCs have been the major driver for this sector. But now the internet and other communication, telecommunications devices are driving it just as strongly if not more strongly. And it's all for the leading-edge devices. You need the small dimensions to give you small chips that are very energy efficient so that the batteries last longer. So any kind of portable access device is really driving this whole industry and our business accordingly. Host2 Chuck somebodyorother: How much further can it go? We're at .25 to .18. Now you're saying .15, do we have another 20 years of Moore's law where we're doubling? Akins: I believe so. I'm a big fan of optical lithography and Moore's law, and if you believe in Moore's law, then the future companies like Cymer is clear. And in my opinion, you're going to see optical lithography using light sources such as the ones that we make be the technology of choice for at least the next 10 years. Host1: Do you subscribe to the theory that there will be less cyclicality in your business because of this broadening of demand for chips from all sorts of different points of the compass? Akins: I subscribe to the theory that there's always a new theory why there's going to be less cyclicality going forward. And I think I'll call it that once we've passed through the next cycle, I'll look back and call it for you. Host1: Mr. Akins, thanks a lot.