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Technology Stocks : General Lithography -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Andrew Vance who wrote (768)	2/18/1998 12:58:00 AM
From: Alan Gallaspy	Respond to of 1305

Startup tips scheme to fix lithography errors -- IC layout correction offered techweb.com

To: Andrew Vance who wrote (768)	2/24/1998 10:49:00 AM
From: Andrew Vance	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1305

AV -- IMPORTANT INFO and STORY The following story is significant since it merges numerous things together: Grant Willson is an ICON in Microlithography. He has co-authored a book that is used and has been used as the foremost training/tutorial reference book for training many of my fellow lithographers, I have previously spoken about an up and coming company (ISI) relative to its SEMATECH involvement and the BellLabs SCALPEL process, DUV has been validated for numerous process technologies now which ends some of the previous worries and discussions that it was a short lived light source this breakthrough could expedite the overall feature size design technology by 5-7 years (further compressing the cycles), keep Moore's Law on track, definitely establishes CYMI as a key provider of enabling technology. DPMI and PLAB become critical suppliers to this enabling technology. ASLMF will not be left in the dust, nor will the other stepper manufacturers. Ladies and Gentlemen, you are looking at a WHEN and not an IF this technology takes off. You have the players and only yourselves to blame by not being properly positioned in these stocks when you feel the timing is correct. Only that you see below is further validation and data supporting my comments in lithography over the past year or so. Long term, these are quality places to be. I have been adding to my position continually for the FUTURE. Somewhere buried among this short list is a company that will parallel INTC, MSFT, or DELL in price performance over the next few years. BTW-Consider this a SPAM since it will be copied to 5 SI Threads. I am doing it for the community and our communal pocketbook. Also consider it real time analysis of stuff that has not yet sunk into the minds of those movers and shakers within the financial community. They still need to decipher this stuff into meaningful non technical and financial terms. You all have a leg up now. Other comments are always welcomed and doing further Due Diligence and research is always important prior to making an investment. I can only bring information to your attention and it is up to you to make the final decision. UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS TEAM ACHIVES 0.08 MICRON BRAKTHROUGH Feb 24 1998 Semiconductor Production Technology Business High Tech Editors AUSTIN, Texas-(BW)--Feb. 24, 1998 DuPont Photomasks Supplies Required Phase Shift Photomask A University of Texas graduate student research team led by Dr. Grant Willson has successfully completed a SEMATECH funded project to print 0.08 micron features on a semiconductor wafer using a 193 nm wavelength stepper. Currently, the most advanced commercial semiconductor designs are manufactured using 0.25 micron process technology, and the Semiconductor Industry Association's recently revised roadmap based on the collaborative work of 300 scientists from industry, government and universities does not call for 0.08 micron feature sizes until the year 2009. The University of Texas breakthrough is especially impressive since it was achieved with a 193 nm Deep Ultraviolet (DUV) stepper while many industry experts believed it would be necessary to develop new post-optical technology to produce feature sizes at or below 0.10 micron, One micron is the equivalent of Approximately 1/25,000 of an inch. Each feature resolved at 0.08 micron is approximately 320 atoms wide. The 0.08 micron features were generated using an etched quartz phase shift photomask produced by DuPont Photomasks, Inc. (NASDAQ: DPMI), more commonly referred to as DPI, in their Round Rock, Texas production facility- Photomasks are high purity quartz plates that contain precision images of the features that are patterned onto semiconductor wafers with lithography steppers to build integrated circuits. The task of building photomasks to enable semiconductor production becomes progressively more difficult as feature sizes shrink, and special techniques such as phase shifting must be incorporated in photomasks to provide the required degree of precise focus. Phase shift photomasks function by allowing a small percentage of the light through the photomask while simultaneously altering the phase of the light transmitted allowing for improved depth of focus and higher factors of resolution. Another essential component in the semiconductor manufacturing process is the photoresist, a chemical substance that interacts with the light source to pattern the image at the required feature sizes onto the semiconductor wafer. The photoresist employed by the University of Texas team, an amorphous polyolefin, took three years to develop. The polymers had to be specifically designed to work with the 193 nm wavelength DUV light source used by the ISI 10X stepper to pattern the features, polymers widely used today by semiconductor producers are formulated for use in processes utilizing 365 nm i-line or 248 nm DUV light sources and are opaque when exposed to 193 nm light sources. Dr. Grant Willson. professor of chemistry and chemical engineering at the University of Texas, led the research team that successfully generated the 0.08 micron features. "I didn't believe it could be done at first," said Dr. Willson, "It really works better than my wildest imaginings, and it appears that 'the process latitude is there to generate smaller features yet." "This is a remarkable achievement for the University of Texas research team, and DuPont Photomasks is pleased to have assisted in their work," said Gil Shelden, DuPont Photomasks' director of engineering. "This is further proof of the enabling power of photomasks in the semiconductor manufacturing process. As the industry's leading producer, DuPont Photomasks is focused on creating the photomask technology that will keep the industry moving forward." The project was funded by SEMATECH, a non-profit research consortium of 10 semiconductor manufacturers, and the 0.08 micron features were generated at SEMATECH's Austin facilities. Kyle Patterson, a University of Texas graduate student on the research team, will.. Andrew