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To: Tsaen Wang who wrote (15176)	2/27/1998 2:37:00 PM
From: BillyG	Respond to of 25960

Foundry test chip. This will speed the adoption of .25 micron, and then .18 micron, in foundries......... techweb.cmp.com A service of Semiconductor Business News, CMP Media Inc. Story posted at 2 p.m. EST/11 a.m. PST, 2/27/98 Four foundries adopt test chip to qualify 0.25-micron processes By J. Robert Lineback SAN JOSE -- The Fabless Semiconductor Association (FSA) here today said Amkor Wafer Fabrication Services, Chartered Semiconductor, Rohm LSI Systems and Worldwide Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. (WSMC) have agreed to pariticpate in the group's program to create a standard test chip for 0.25-micron foundry services. FSA's 0.25-micron Standard Qualification Test Chip Program was initiated last year after fabless semiconductor companies urged the group to create an industrywide method to evaluate silicon foundry processes. Some silicon foundries have questioned the proposal and are resisting the move, claiming that a single test chip standard may not accurately reflect the performance of all wafer fab processes. However, the fabless semiconductor trade group has made the creation of a standard test chip a top priority in 1998 (see Nov. 10 story). Under the program, foundries manufacture the FSA's 0.25-micron chip in their fabs, and after tests are performed, the results are reported to the fabless semiconductor community. The FSA will certify foundries for having provided their customers with sufficient data to qualify their process, according to the trade group. "The relationship between the foundry and its customers has matured over the last couple of years, resulting in mutual cooperation and development which is necessary to the continued success of the fabless and foundry model," said David Angel, chairman of the FSA who also CEO and chairman of Information Storage Devices Inc. in San Jose. "Participation in this program demonstrates these foundries willingness to ensure their customers' a competitive edge through the reduction of repetitive process qualifications, ultimately reducing time-to-market." The FSA said its 0.25-micron test chip has been designed to include all of the necessary process qualification components. The design includes SRAM, logic, qualified library and IP elements, reliability physics tests, minimum electrical parametric tests, process evaluation and SPICE modeling test structures. In April 1997, the FSA hired TestChip Technologies Inc. to design the 0.25 micron test chip. Last September, Mentor Graphics Corp. of Wilsonville, Ore., began the design of an SRAM component to be added to the chip. "We feel confident that as this program proves to be successful and the benefits accrue to foundries and users alike, its scope and importance will grow," said Colin Harris, FSA subcommittee chairman. "Several additional foundries have expressed interest in participation at the 0.18-micron node in 1999."