Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Electro Scientific??? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Elwood who wrote (371)	4/8/1998 11:56:00 AM
From: Mark Oliver	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 723

E, the problems you sight are significant, but I wonder how long they will last. The thing I like about ESI is I don't have to always get it right on a day to day basis. I think there is a quality of products and management that will pull this company through as the future demands increasingly complex products at lower costs. Take DRAM for example. They must squeeze every possible chip out of a wafer. Yield repair is highly a visible tool with good return on equity. It's going into existing fabs and new fabs. The market is not saturated. Then look at the new DRAM's coming into market. They are faced with typical new product concerns of low yields and high profit potential should they be able to improve yields. Do you think they will buy? See an attached article. In the end, I think short term we could see lower prices, but in the long term, I think we've got a pretty safe winner. When money does a flight to quality, they should look at ESI. Regards, Mark By Ron Wilson SAN JOSE, Calif., A sudden jump in demand for very fast synchronous DRAMs has helped pull Intel Corp.'s PC-100 specification into the mainstream of the personal computer market, according to George Robillard, vice president of Fujitsu Microelectronics Inc. "Initially, the industry had been focusing on PC-100 for the first quarter of this year," Robillard said. "But in the first quarter nothing much happened. Now we are seeing a real burst in demand for SDRAMs that can meet PC-100 requirements, both from some major OEMs and from some module vendors." For modules to comply with the PC-100 spec, they must hold SDRAMs that are capable of operating at about 125 MHz. The chip maker supplying the SDRAMs and the module maker must judiciously allocate the modules' flight times, set-up, hold and access times to see that the overall module complies with Intel's stringent specification. The increased demand for such chips has raised a number of debates over chip and module timing. Module vendors are reportedly discovering significant differences in timing between SDRAMs from different vendors, all of which nominally can meet the PC-100 requirements. Another emerging issue involves a spec known as CL-2 -- the ability of the module to initiate its first transfer two clocks after the CAS signal is sent from the system controller. While there is little difference in application performance between systems using CL-2 or CL-3 modules, the difference is detectable by synthetic benchmarks, and hence has marketing significance. Vendors are currently seeing low yields on parts that are fast enough to meet the CL-2 timing spec, so compliance has become a bragging point for DRAM vendors as well as systems vendors. Toshiba America Electronics Corp., for example, has announced that its parts comply with CL-2. CL-2 will be more readily achievable once DRAM processes migrate from 0.30 to 0.28 microns, said Fujitsu's Robillard.

To: Elwood who wrote (371)	5/26/1998 11:30:00 AM
From: Mark Oliver	Respond to of 723

ESI Ships Model 2300 Chip Resistor Trimmer to TA-I Technology Co. Ltd., Of Taiwan PR Newswire - May 21, 1998 12:12 ESIO %CPR V%PRN P%PRN ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PORTLAND, Ore., May 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Electro Scientific Industries, Inc. (Nasdaq: ESIO) today announced a multiple unit order for the Model 2300 from TA-I Technology Co., Ltd., of Taoyuan, Taiwan. This order marks the initial multiple unit order for the Model 2300, the first laser trimming system specifically designed to address the needs of today's chip resistor and chip array producers. Currently, one system has been installed at TA-I Technology, with the remaining units to ship before May 31, the end of ESI's fourth quarter. Jeff Fu, Assistant Production Manger of TA-I Technology Co., Ltd., said, "The Model 2300 from ESI has already performed beyond our expectations in speed and accuracy. We look forward to receiving the rest of our order and continuing to work with ESI to enhance our production." "This is the first new laser trimming system in ten years that has been developed exclusively for chip resistor, network and array adjustment," said Bruce Goldwater, General Manager of ESI's Circuit Fine Tuning Division. "The Model 2300 provides a better than 40% throughput improvement over currently available systems. This will enable manufacturers to meet the growing demand for miniature chip resistors and chip arrays in a more cost-effective manner," concluded Goldwater. The Model 2300 is capable of trimming chip resistors as small as 0402 (.04 in. x .02 in., or 1 mm x .5 mm). Chip arrays, which combine multiple resistors in a single component, can also be fine-tuned using the Model 2300. Chip arrays are becoming increasingly important in electronics production because of their ability to make economic use of valuable "real estate" on printed wire board surfaces. About TA-I Technology TA-I Technology Co., Ltd. is one of the leading passive component manufacturers in Taiwan and supplies all ranges of surface mount resistors, thick-film chip resistors, thick-film chip resistor networks, and thick-film resistor networks to a wide variety of large customers in the United States, Southeast Asia, Europe, South Africa, and the Middle East. TA-I Technology Co., Ltd. was granted the ISO-9002 certificate in 1993, and the UL-I.E.C.O. certificate in 1996. About ESI ESI, headquartered in Portland, Oregon, designs and manufactures sophisticated products used around the world in electronics manufacturing including: laser manufacturing systems for semiconductor yield improvement; production and test equipment for the manufacture of surface mount ceramic capacitors; laser trim systems for precise electrical tuning of circuits; precision laser and mechanical drilling systems for electronic interconnect; and machine vision systems. Electro Scientific Industries is traded on the Nasdaq National Market System under the symbol, "ESIO." ESI's web site is esio.com. SOURCE Electro Scientific Industries, Inc. /CONTACT: Larry Rapp, Investor Relations, 503-671-5446, or Joe Reinhardt, Press Relations, 503-671-5500, both of Electro Scientific Industries, Inc./ /Web site: esio.com