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Technology Stocks : Texas Instruments - Good buy now or should we wait? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Scott Moody who wrote (4010)	8/26/1998 4:48:00 PM
From: Spyder	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 6180

0.07 micron Wow... prnewswire.com TI Prepares to Build Chips Based on Smallest Announced Transistors Mixed Signal and DSP on a Single Chip Enter Gigahertz Performance DALLAS, Aug. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Researchers at Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) disclosed today that they have developed leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing technology based on the smallest announced transistors in the industry. Featuring an effective channel length of just 0.07 micron -- 1,000 times thinner than a human hair -- the transistors are so miniscule that more than 400 million of them will fit onto a single chip the size of a fingernail. "The new 0.07 micron CMOS technology will keep TI in the forefront of high-performance manufacturing," said Dr. Yoshio Nishi, senior vice president and R&D director at TI. "The ability to pack 400 million transistors on single, low-voltage chip will push high-speed wireless and multimedia communications far beyond the limits of today's technology." Using a 0.07 micron technology allows for an unprecedented level of systems integration and enables a new era of gigahertz performance. TI will have the capability to build complete systems on a single chip with clock speeds exceeding 1 gigahertz, internal voltages as low as 1 volt, and the integration of both digital and analog functions. Products based on these chips will weigh less, shrink in size, consume less power and be able to execute software much faster than with today's technology. In some cases, TI's technology will enable applications that are only dreamed of today. For example, certain types of hearing aids may be reduced to appliances that can be directly implanted in the inner ear. Wireless telephones will be able to handle data and video as well as voice. ADSL modems will bring no-wait Internet access to consumers and small businesses. Hard disk drives will read gigabits of data per second for instantaneous access of large data bases. Teleconferencing will become commonplace on workstations and PCs. Process supports mixed-signal operation For the first time in a leading-edge high-density process, the 0.07 micron transistors are designed for analog operation as well as digital. As a result, TI will be able to integrate mixed-signal functions along with high- speed digital logic and cores from the very beginning of this process technology's life cycle. This capability allows TI to leverage its market leadership and technology in both high-performance digital signal processors (DSPs) and mixed-signal products to create a complete systems solution on a single chip. Among the other advanced products that will benefit from the advanced 0.07 micron CMOS process are UltraSPARC microprocessors, which TI manufactures for SUN Microsystems. TI breaks through research barriers In addition to ultra-small-scale transistors that are tuned for both analog and digital performance, other TI research advances are also essential to the success of the new technology. TI's leadership in combining copper wiring with low-k dielectric materials substantially lowers on-chip resistance and capacitance. Like other leading companies, TI is moving toward use of copper in place of aluminum for wiring because it significantly reduces resistance. Copper also serves to lower manufacturing costs because it can be applied using a dual damascene technique that eliminates some process steps. TI has also pioneered the use of insulating materials with a low dielectric constant that diminishes wiring capacitance. The ultimate development in dielectrics is xerogel, a highly porous material with billions of microscopic nanopores or bubbles containing air. In 1995, TI teamed with Nanoport, Inc., to win a prestigious National Institute of Standards and Technology Advanced Technology Program for the application of xerogel in integrated circuits. Within the industry, TI is exceptional in its ability to integrate complete system-on-a-chip solutions in high-density devices. Among the capabilities at the company's disposal are extremely small embedded SRAMs, with close to 500 Kbits per square millimeter, and embedded flash memories with more than 3 million bits per square millimeter. Embedded analog functions serve as the interface between DSPs and the real world. Dual- threshold voltages enable higher processing performance with lower power consumption. "TI research has been at the forefront of the electronics industry since the earliest days of semiconductors," said Dr. Nishi. "Now we are heading into a new millennium with a process technology that will make it possible to put the power of digital processing and supercomputing into a system that fits in the palm of your hand." TI celebrates forty years of IC leadership The 0.07 micron process disclosure commemorates the fortieth anniversary of Jack Kilby's invention of the integrated circuit at Texas Instruments. Development of the new process is taking place in the Kilby Center in Dallas, TI's multibillion-dollar center for research of new IC technologies. "During the past forty years the integrated circuit has truly revolutionized society," said Dr. Nishi. "But the years to come look equally exciting and revolutionary. TI research is continuing to make breakthroughs that will bring ever-greater capabilities to the systems of the future." TI plans to initiate designs in the new 0.07 micron CMOS process starting in the year 2000, with volume production beginning in 2001. Texas Instruments Incorporated is a global semiconductor company and the world's leading designer and supplier of digital signal processing solutions, the engines driving the digitization of electronics. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company's businesses also include materials and controls, educational and productivity solutions and digital imaging. The company has manufacturing or sales operations in more than 25 countries. Texas Instruments is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TXN. More information is located on the World Wide Web at ti.com SOURCE Texas Instruments Incorporated Web Site: ti.com CONTACT: Kim Quirk of Texas Instruments Incorporated, 972-480-6878