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Technology Stocks : Align-Rite Int'l (MASK) Undervalued compared to PLAB DPMI -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Luke Lang who wrote (147)	11/15/1997 7:41:00 AM
From: Bookdon	Respond to of 388

Mask usage is not quite in sync with the semiconductor industry. It tends to follow a different cycle. When the semi business is booming, new steppers are being installed, and new technologies are used, which need new (usually more expensive masks). When the semi business is not building new plants, the need to use existing plants often results in design changes, within the "old" technology, meaning additional masks are required. In general, the masks don't wear out, but the designs become outmoded, requirig new masks. Normally, the first try works. In the past, it often required two or three mask set to come up with a good working design, but that is no longer the rule.