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

To: advocatedevil who wrote (59030)	1/17/2002 9:38:38 PM
From: StanX Long	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 70976

ASML, Canon and Nikon are sold out of 193-nm tools in 2002 By Mark LaPedus Semiconductor Business News (01/17/02 14:38 p.m. EST) siliconstrategies.com SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- In what could pose as a major problem for the development of next-generation, 0.10-micron chip designs, leading lithography suppliers are nearly sold out of high-end, 193-nm (argon-fluoride) tools for the entire year of 2002, according to industry sources. The three leading-edge lithography suppliers--including ASML Holding Ltd., Canon Inc. and Nikon Corp--have already committed most of their respective backlogs of high numerical-aperture (NA), 193-nm scanners for chip customers in 2002. And now, tool vendors are quoting lead times of about 12-to-14 months for new high NA, 193-nm scanner orders, according to sources. Worried that they would not be able to obtain these tools in 2002, many chip makers began to order or otherwise horde their high-end 193-nm scanners from vendors in mid- to late-2001, sources said. Chip vendors gambled and placed their orders early in the game--even though these new, advanced 193-nm tools will not be shipped in volumes until mid- to late-2002, according to sources. The demand for these scanners is welcomed news for tool makers that are suffering from the current IC downturn: a high NA, 193-nm system sells for $10-to-$15 million--each, analysts said. But the apparent shortage of these tools also could pose as a problem for some chips makers, especially for those that failed to order these systems during the market window in 2001. The new high NA, 193-nm tools are critical for the production of next-generation chips based on 0.10-micron (100-nm) technology, which is expected to hit the market in early-2003 or so, analysts said. At present, chip makers are using workhorse 248-nm scanners to process their 0.13-micron chips, but these tools are quickly running out of steam and may not be able to extend down to the 100-nm node, analysts said.