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Technology Stocks : Applied Materials No-Politics Thread (AMAT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (4811)	1/7/2003 2:17:30 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25522

Litho delays pose problems at 65-nm node, warns Sematech CEO By Mark LaPedus Semiconductor Business News (01/07/03 01:35 p.m. EST) PEBBLE BEACH, Calif.--The shift towards sub-90-nm technologies could pose some new and major problems for IC makers, including a possible delay of 157-nm tools at the 65-nm (0.065-micron) node, warned the top executive of International Sematech here today. New and complex wafer-fab materials are also expected to present more challenges for chip makers at the 65-nm node as well, said Bob Helms, president and CEO of Sematech, the Austin, Tex.-based chip-making consortium. “There are some significant technical challenges at that node,” Helms said. As a result, “R&D partnerships [between chip makers] will be a critical wave of the present. With a few exceptions, companies cannot go it alone,” he said in a presentation about the challenges of sub-90-nm technologies at the Industry Strategy Symposium (ISS) here today. Sponsored by the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) trade group of San Jose, ISS runs from Jan. 5-8 in Pebble Beach. Leading chip makers are expected to develop IC products based on the 90-nm (0.09-micron) node starting in late 2003 or early 2004. Vendors are also projected to move to the 65-nm node by 2005. By then, microprocessors are expected to run at 4-GHz in the first phase of the 65-nm node, but will increase to 6-GHz at the “half node” in 2006, according to Helms. One of the major manufacturing challenges to enable 65-nm designs is clear: lithography. Leading-edge IC makers are currently scrambling to get their existing 193-nm lithography tools up and running at the 90-nm node. The next-generation 157-nm tools are expected to process the critical layers at 65-nm, but there are some issues with these scanners. Researchers have found unsuspected high levels of intrinsic birefringence in the lens materials, which will severely affect lens design and images at the wafer level in 157-nm tools. Technical issues have already prompted tool makers to delay the introductions of their 157-nm scanners (see March 8, 2002 story ). At ISS, Helms dropped hints that 157-nm tools may not be ready--at least for the first phase of 65-nm production in the 2005 time frame. “The lithography challenges are fairly significant,” Helms said. “I think the litho roadmap is a little more aggressive than we can hit. If you want to have a low-risk solution in the first half [of the 65-nm node], then you'd better have 193-nm tools ready,” he warned. Helms also hinted that 157-nm tools could be ready for the second phase of the 65-nm node, which is expected in the 2006 time frame. But even these advanced scanners alone will not address the entire problem in 65-nm. “To pattern down at half the wavelength is a daunting challenge,” he said. “If you want to cheat the 'Mother Nature' of litho, you will have to focus on new materials.” Among the materials in play for the 90-nm node and beyond include silicon-on-insulator (SOI), strained-silicon, and others. “High-k is also coming,” Helms said. “It's going to be needed for lower-power devices,” he said. “New materials are the wave of the future,” he added.

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (4811)	1/8/2003 8:20:32 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 25522

AKT Introduces AKT-25K PECVD System for Manufacturing Next Generation Flat Panel Displays Wednesday January 8, 7:30 am ET Generation-6 PECVD System Enables Expanded Production of Large-Size Flat Panel TVs SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 8, 2003-- AKT, Inc., an Applied Materials company and the world's leading supplier of plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) systems to the flat panel display (FPD) industry, announces its AKT-25K PECVD system for manufacturing generation-6 TFT-LCD* panels. Generation-6 substrates, which measure 1500mm x 1800mm and have 75 percent more area than the previous generation, are used to make TFT-LCD displays for flat panel televisions. Production shipments of the AKT-25K system are expected to begin in mid-calendar year 2003. "Flat panel computer and TV screens are expected to dominate the market as they become increasingly affordable. As our customers move to manufacturing larger, more cost-effective substrates to meet this demand, we have led the way in providing the productivity and advanced technology to enable their aggressive timelines," noted Dr. Kam Law, corporate vice president and general manager of AKT. "We have already received orders for this new system, which is based on the proven system architecture and technology that have made us the industry leader in CVD equipment." The AKT-25K PECVD system builds on many of the proven technology advances of the previous AKT-15K PECVD system. The AKT-25K PECVD has capacity for up to five process chambers and maintains a high throughput of greater than 50 substrates per hour. The system can deposit single layers or in situ multiple-layer films of amorphous silicon (a-Si), silicon oxide (SiOx), silicon oxynitride (SiON) and silicon nitride (SiNx). According to DisplaySearch, a market research firm, the market for TFT-LCD display manufacturing equipment was $4.6 billion in 2001 and is expected to reach $6.8 billion by 2004. DisplaySearch ranked AKT as the global leader in CVD equipment for flat panel display manufacturing in 2001. Applied Materials, the largest supplier of products and services to the global semiconductor industry, is one of the world's leading information infrastructure providers. Applied Materials enables Information for Everyone(TM) by helping semiconductor manufacturers produce more powerful, portable and affordable chips. Applied Materials' web site is www.appliedmaterials.com. TFT-LCD: thin film transistor liquid crystal display