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Technology Stocks : Cymer (CYMI) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TideGlider who wrote (10498)	11/25/1997 6:58:00 AM
From: Asymmetric	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25960

Is This Good News For Cymer? Would 64-Mbit SDRAM require stepper-scanners using Cymer lasers? The following article would seem to argue for the general need to technically upgrade to smaller line-widths to support higher PC system bus speeds. Then again, maybe I'm stretching things here as the article mainly addresses problems with testing. Would be interested in any opinions. Supply Of High-Speed DRAMs Could Tighten In '98 By Andrew MacLellan CMP 11/21/97 After a year and a half in which it seemed DRAMs could never be too plentiful or too cheap, memory-chip manufacturers are warning their customers to brace for a possible shortage of high-speed parts next year. Two of the largest South Korean semiconductor manufacturers said that as rigorous new test requirements outstrip the abilities of IC suppliers, their industry will have trouble meeting demand for high-speed synchronous DRAM through much of 1998. The anticipated shortage will likely drive up the price of emerging 64-Mbit SDRAM chips, pinching OEMs but providing welcome relief to profit- strapped memory makers, who have seen the prices for some products fall by more than 90% over the past two years. The new DRAM test parameters, known as the PC100 specification, are expected to drive the next generation of high-performance PCs by introducing a faster 100-MHz bus connection between the main memory and system logic. But at $2 million apiece, the equipment needed to qualify the high-speed devices may be out of reach for some DRAM vendors, whose earnings have withered in an 18-month down market. With the industry's leading memory-test-equipment house reporting six-month lead times for its SDRAM testers, equipment availability may also be a problem, despite a recent production increase. For months, third-party DRAM module manufacturers have warned that PC100 will prove onerous to all but the best-capitalized DIMM vendors. Now, DRAM chip makers are telling their own cautionary tale, predicting that few factories will be ready next year with products supporting the new bus speeds. "Late in the first quarter, a new generation of PC will begin shipping, and most PC companies expect there will be a shortage of PC-compatible parts at least through the first half of '98, and probably into the third quarter," said Mark Ellsberry, vice president of marketing at Hyundai Electronics America's Semiconductor Division, San Jose.