Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: Katherine Derbyshire who wrote (35519)	6/21/2000 3:18:00 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 70976

Infineon to add a third 300-mm fab, this one at White Oak facility By Jack Robertson Semiconductor Business News (06/21/00, 03:14:20 PM EDT) WASHINGTON -- Infineon Technologies AG today confirmed that it is planning a third 300-mm DRAM fab at its White Oak, Va., site. The German chip maker is starting to construct a fab shell adjoining the existing 200-mm plant, but has not set a timetable on when to equip the building. Jan Du Preez, vice president of memory products for Infineon's U.S. subsidiary, confirmed reports that the second-stage White Oak shell will be started shortly. "We have not yet decided when to equip the shell, but it is definitely planned to be a 300-mm fab. All our new DRAM fabs will be 300-mm," he said. Infineon is building its first 300-mm production fab at its Dresden, Germany, site (see March 31 story).That facility is expected to start production in late 2001. The firm also this month confirmed reports it will join with its partner, Mosel-Vitelic Inc., in building a second 300-mm fab in Taiwan as part of the ProMOS joint venture. The three slated 300-mm fabs so far puts Infineon far ahead of other DRAM rivals in committing to the new larger wafer plants. Each 300-mm wafer will yield 2.2 to 2.5 times the number of comparable die as existing 200-mm wafers. Samsung Electronics Co. is building Line 11 as a 300-mm fab in Korea, and is expected to launch production late in 2001. NEC Corp. is building one fab shell in Japan and considering another in Roseville, Calif. Both of those could be equipped later as 300-mm facilities to make DRAMs for the new joint venture, NEC Hitachi Memory Inc. Micron Technology Inc., the Boise, Idaho-based DRAM maker, has long had several fab shells at Lehi, Utah, slated to be equipped at a future time for 300-mm production of DRAMs.

To: Katherine Derbyshire who wrote (35519)	6/21/2000 3:24:00 PM
From: Fred Levine	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 70976

Please straighten out my apparent confusion about the utility of the B to B ratio. It seems to me that as billings increase, it becomes more difficult for bookings to increase proportionately, and therefore we can have huge increases in earnings with a decrease in B to B. Billings should determine earnings and not bookings. I'm assuming capacity of the fabs has been increasing and therefore billings have increased. The absolute amount of either booking or billings seem to be more useful than the ratio, since the ratio can decrease while bookings actually increase, presuming billings go up. Now, having everyone confused, I'd appreciate comments. fred