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

To: Gottfried who wrote (8365)	12/22/2003 7:55:14 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 25522

STMicroelectronics Achieves Exceptional Results on Applied Materials' Copper CMP System with Integrated Nova Metrology Monday December 22, 7:30 am ET The 200mm Applied Mirra(R) Mesa(TM) CMP System with NovaScan 2020 Copper Metrology Elevates Productivity, Improves Process Control for Copper Chips SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 22, 2003-- Applied Materials, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMAT - News) has completed a comprehensive evaluation program with STMicroelectronics (ST), Crolles, France, that demonstrated superior results using the 200mm Applied Mirra Mesa CMP(1) system configured with the NovaScan 2020 Copper integrated metrology unit from Nova Measuring Instruments. ST found that this integrated system is highly accurate in the measurement of erosion and the detection of copper residue. These demonstrated capabilities are key to enabling the reduction of scrap and the improvement of cycle time at the Crolles 1 facility. Dominique Labrunye, Director of Process and Equipment Engineering at STMicroelectronics, Crolles, said, "The exceptional performance of the Applied Mirra Mesa system with Nova integrated metrology has shown capability to increase the productivity of our dual damascene copper CMP process. Our joint work with Applied Materials and Nova has helped identify a key enabler to cycle time reduction as well as improvements in both equipment and fab efficiency." The evaluation of Nova's in-line Copper metrology system on an Applied Mirra Mesa polisher was conducted for six months at ST's Crolles site using its copper production process and production wafers. ST found that the integrated technology demonstrated the capability to eliminate the need for off-line, stand-alone monitoring by collecting and analyzing process data from every wafer immediately after polishing. Its ability to monitor process excursions can help shorten ramp time and improve yield. Russell Ellwanger, Vice President and General Manager of Applied Materials' Planarization and Plating Product Business Group, said, "Our joint copper CMP program with ST and Nova is extremely beneficial and has helped us develop the advanced capabilities of the Applied Mirra Mesa system for copper technology. The combination of enhanced polishing precision, higher device yield and improved system operating performance is a powerful advantage for our customers who want to minimize the difficulties of moving to a new chip generation." The non-contact, non-intrusive optical measurement technology of the NovaScan 2020 Copper unit on the Applied Mirra Mesa CMP system uses spectrophotometric technology to measure and detect copper and barrier metal residues as well as erosion of the copper arrays, enabling improved control of the polish process and the elimination of time-consuming off-line measurements. The NovaScan 2020 Copper technology is used in combination with Applied Materials' existing on-board monitoring tools, the iScan(TM) and FullScan(TM) systems, which precisely control overpolishing and measure copper film thickness, to provide the tightest possible wafer-to-wafer control. The Nova unit is available on the Applied Mirra® and Applied Reflexion® CMP systems. Dr. Giora Dishon, CEO of Nova Measuring Instruments, said, "Our success at ST with the Nova 2020 Copper demonstrates the tremendous potential of this technology for 90nm volume manufacturing. Besides being a key step in the strategic effort between Applied Materials and Nova to develop advanced process control for copper CMP, it also validates our approach to combining multi-channel spectrophotometry and image processing in one tool." Nova Measuring Instruments Ltd. develops, designs and produces integrated process control systems for the semiconductor manufacturing industry. Nova provides a broad range of integrated process control solutions that link different semiconductor processes and process equipment. The Company's website is www.nova.co.il. Applied Materials (Nasdaq:AMAT - News) is the largest supplier of products and services to the global semiconductor industry. Applied Materials' web site is www.appliedmaterials.com. (1) CMP: chemical mechanical polishing

To: Gottfried who wrote (8365)	12/22/2003 2:32:59 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 25522

The top ten stories of 2003 The mild--or spicy--semiconductor recovery in '03 (10:35 AM EST, 12/22/03) Chip-equipment recovery: 'Wait until next year' (10:54 AM EST, 12/22/03) Industry scrambles to embrace immersion lithography (10:42 AM EST, 12/22/03) EUV, 157-nm tread water, as prospects recede (9:58 AM EST, 12/22/03) Moto tries the role of electronics industry diva (9:25 AM EST, 12/22/03) IBM, SMIC shake up silicon foundry landscape (11:20 AM EST, 12/22/03) Industry's pursuit of 'universal' memory steps up a gear (9:00 AM EST, 12/22/03) The ongoing 'sucking sound' coming from Asia (12:00 PM EST, 12/22/03) CapEx story in '03: Cautious. Conservative. Pitiful. (11:40 AM EST, 12/22/03) Looking back and the year ahead in DRAM (7:43 AM EST, 12/19/03) siliconstrategies.com

To: Gottfried who wrote (8365)	12/23/2003 8:53:00 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25522

Matsushita to build $1.2 billion fab for consumer boom Peter Clarke 12/23/2003 7:50 AM EST LONDON -- The heating up of the chip market, and the potential recovery of the semiconductor equipment continued on Tuesday (December 23, 2003) when it was reported that Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd., would spend 130 billion yen (about US$1.2 billion) on a 300-mm wafer fab. Reports said the fab would be constructed, starting early in 2004, at a site in Uozu, Toyoma Prefecture, about 160 kilometers (about 100 miles) west of Tokyo, with a view to entering production late in 2005. The fab is said to have a floor space of about 50,000 square metres and capacity of about 10,000 300-mm diameter wafer starts per month. The reports said the plant would be used to build system LSIs, the Japanese phrase for logic chips. Matsushita, maker of Panasonic brand products, has decided to build the plant in anticipation of a boom in the sale of digital consumer electronics equipment, the reports said.

To: Gottfried who wrote (8365)	12/25/2003 4:39:33 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 25522

Merry Christmas to All! Some more good news for the technology sector: Domain names once again fetch top dollar Thursday, December 25, 2003 Posted: 1912 GMT ( 3:12 AM HKT) NEW YORK (AP) -- One more sign the technology sector is rebounding: An Internet domain name is again commanding seven figures. Last week, a Florida man sold men.com for $1.3 million, a healthy profit over the $15,000 he paid for it in 1997. The buyers, largely entertainment industry folks who have opted to remain anonymous behind the acquiring company, men.com LLC, want to create a portal for men. "In the last couple of years, the domain names were selling for significantly less than what they did in '99, 2000," said Monte Cahn, chief executive of Moniker Online Services, which brokered the sale. He said the seven-figure price tag for men.com "is a big indicator of what's yet to come." At the market's height, a handful of domain names sold for millions of dollars, including $7.5 million for business.com in late 1999 and $3 million for loans.com in January 2000. But countless others sat unclaimed, and the dot-com bust forced many domain name speculators to give them up when they came up for re-registration, at roughly $30 apiece. Ryan Levy, vice president of marketing for men.com, said the company also has purchased more than 1,000 other domain names over the past year at fire-sale prices to use in conjunction with the new portal. The seller, Rick Schwartz, believes he could have gotten much more for men.com by waiting longer. But Schwartz, who owns more than 4,000 other domain names, said he wanted the money now -- so that he can buy others before prices really skyrocket.