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

To: Proud_Infidel who wrote (49963)	7/30/2001 9:02:26 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 70976

Demand drops for all but 300-mm wafers By Yoshiko Hara EE Times (07/30/01 18:26 p.m. EST) TOKYO — Despite a marked drop in orders for 200-mm and smaller wafers from Japan's leading chip makers, demand for 300-mm wafers has increased steadily since late last year, according to the Committee of Silicon, an association whose members supply more than 90 percent of the world's wafers. Orders for 150-mm and smaller diameter wafers have nearly halved from peak levels last November through May 2001, while demand for 200-mm wafers have dropped about 27 percent over that same period, the committee said. Meanwhile, production and sales of 300-mm wafers are ramping up. The committee reported that its member companies sold 30,000 of the larger wafers last October, 40,000 in February and more than 75,000 in May. Executives at wafer manufacturers said the shift to 300-mm wafers would divide the fate of semiconductor manufacturers going forward, while allowing that shipment volumes are still small though increasing sharply. Many wafer manufacturers are moving ahead with plans to increase 300-mm wafer production. Shin-Etsu Handotai Co. Ltd., the world's largest wafer supplier, has completed a volume production line for 300-mm wafers in Shirakawa, Japan, in addition to its existing pilot line with a capacity of 10,000 units per month. The company said it intends to establish a monthly capacity of 100,000 units of 300-mm wafers this year. Mitsubishi Materials Silicon Corp. and the Sitix Division of Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd. established a joint venture in July 1999 to develop and manufacture 300-mm wafers. That venture, named Silicon United Manufacturing Corp., is now building a 300-mm wafer factory which is scheduled to begin operation this fall. Wacker Siltronic is also looking to establish volume production of 300-mm wafers, and Toshiba Ceramics Co. Ltd. also plans to begin 300-mm wafer production this autumn with a startup capacity of 10,000 units per month. Committee members invested $740 million in 300-mm facilities last year, and investments this year could double that amount, said Tadashi Wakayama, managing director of Toshiba Ceramics and chairman of the Committee of Silicon. "Whether the twice-larger investment will be actually carried out or not is quite unpredictable at present," Wakayama said. "This will depend largely on how 300-mm wafer demand moves. If the demand is smaller than expected, there may be cases where manufacturers build buildings but have to hold installation of facilities." Formed under the Japan Society of Newer Metals, the Committee of Silicon consists of nine wafer manufacturers: Komatsu Electronic Metals; MEMC Electron Materials; Mitsubishi Materials Polycrystalline Silicon; Mitsubishi Materials Silicon; Sumitomo's Sitix Division; Tokuyama; Toshiba Ceramics; Shin-Etsu Handotai; and Wacker NSCE.