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Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: FJB who wrote (20764)	6/24/1998 7:03:00 PM
From: Teri Skogerboe	Respond to of 70976

Semi news (a bit dated, but shrink related) techweb.cmp.com A service of Semiconductor Business News, CMP Media Inc. Story posted at 8 a.m. EST/5 a.m. PST, 1/22/98 Japan's DRAM makers speed shift to 64-Mbit, reduce 16-Mbit output By Jack Robertson TOKYO -- The DRAM-incited fall in profits this fiscal year is causing Hitachi Ltd., Toshiba Corp., and NEC Corp. to cutback production sharply again on money-losing 16-Mbit memories. All are shifting rapidly to double output of 64-Mbit DRAMs, now also losing money, but the chip makers hope the new generation of memory ICs will become profitable as demand picks up and production costs are reduced with die shrinks that can increase wafer yields significantly. An Hitachi spokesman today here said 16-Mbit production will be cut 20% in the next two months to 8 million units monthly. The cutback affects Hitachi's Japanese fabs only, which will stop lines for a period up to a week in February and March. Production cuts are also slated in Hitachi's Japan fabs for SRAMs and ROM chips, the spokesman said. He blamed the unprofitable 16-Mbit DRAM market for the reductions. The spokesman declined to comment on Japanese press reports that Hitachi would report a loss for its fiscal year, ending March 31, but agreed "it is a very, very serious situation." Also in Tokyo, a Toshiba corporate official predicted an 85% drop in net profits to only $76 million (10 billion yen) for the firm when the financial results are reported for its fiscal year, ending March 31. Toshiba's net earnings for the previous year were 125 billion yen, equivalent to $1.25 billion at the exchange rate a year ago or just $900 million at today's exchange rate. As a result, Toshiba is delaying a new fab in Kyushu for one or two years to possibly start construction in 2000 for production in 2002. The fab originally had been slated to start construction this year. NEC is also scaling back unprofitable 16-Mbit output with the shift of all production from its U.K. and Japanese fabs to its plant in Roseville, Calif. The shift begins this month, according to a spokeswoman. Fabs in the United Kingdom and in Hiroshima and Kyushu, Japan, will produce solely 64-Mbit DRAMs on 0.25-micron processes, the spokeswoman said. In the shift, NEC expects to ramp up total 64-Mbit production from the current 3 million units a month to 6 million a month this summer. She said all 64-Mbit memories will be made on quarter-micron lines, expected to yield up to 400 die from an 8-inch wafer. Industry analysts believe 400 die per wafer is the minimum level needed to be profitable at the $13 to $16 dollar range selling price for the next-generation memory chip. A Fujitsu Ltd. spokesman said his firm will cut the current 16-Mbit production rate of 7 million units a month in half by the middle of this year. At the same time, Fujitsu hopes to ramp up 64-Mbit DRAMs to 3 million a month this year. -------- pubs.cmpnet.com A service of Semiconductor Business News, CMP Media Inc. Story posted at 11 a.m. EDT/8 a.m. PDT, 6/4/98 There's life in 5-inch and 6-inch wafer fabs By Jack Robertson OSAKA, Japan -- A semiconductor market report from SEMI Semicon Kansai here disclosed the surprising projection that trailing-edge 5-inch and 6-inch wafer fabs will continue producing about the same number of chips annually through 2003. Yasuo Komatsuzaki, manager of market statistics for SEMI Japan, said that 6-inch-wafer starts around the world will hold steady at just under 500,000 per month for the next five years, while 5-inch-wafer starts will ease slightly to 200,000 per month in the same period. He also reported that 8-inch-wafer starts each year month will continue to mushroom through 2003 to 650,000 per mnth by 2003--a jump from 450,000 wafer starts per month this year. Coupled with rapid die shrinks on the wfaers during this period, this portends a continuing avalanche of chips on the market. With all the attention on 8-inch and the upcoming 12-inch wafers, the long continuing life of 5-inch and 6-inch wafer fabs has received little attention. Although yields of the old fabs are far behind modern 8-inch plants, these venerable facilities have been depreciated for years and so continue to be low-cost operations. The majority of 5-inch and 6-inch fabs are in Asia--particularly Japan and South Korea--although a bevy of U.S. logic-chip makers also continue to operate the smaller wafer size plants. Komatsuzaki predicted minimal 12-inch wafer starts in 2001, ramping up to 100,000 starts a month by 2003. ----