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To: Zeev Hed who wrote (20474)	12/18/1998 10:11:00 AM
From: BillyG	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25960

Chip gear index rises but order rate still weak semibiznews.com A service of Semiconductor Business News, CMP Media Inc. Story posted 8:30 a.m. EST/5:30 a.m., 12/18/98 By Will Wade MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--Orders for advanced IC production systems are helping to prop up the troubled semiconductor equipment industry but current business levels are nearly half as much as they were in 1997, according to the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) trade group here. SEMI's latest book-to-bill ratio for North American semiconductor equipment suppliers reflects steady improvement in sales during November, but revenues were running about 41% lower than they were in the same month last year. For November, SEMI's book-to-bill index rose to 0.84 from a revised 0.75 figure for October. A ratio of 0.84 indicates that $84 in new orders are being received for $100 worth of products shipped. The SEMI index has not been at parity since November 1997 when it stood at 1.0. "Technology buys are certainly going ahead as planned in the semiconductor industry," said Stanley Myers, president of SEMI. "However, keep in mind that current business levels for the equipment industry are running about half of 1997. Technology purchases alone will not return the equipment and materials industry to its former profitability. We certainly hope to get to the point where significant new capacity is needed before the year 2000." Using a three-month moving average, SEMI figures that North American semiconductor equipment suppliers shipped only $962.9 million of systems in November compared to $1.634 billion in the same month last year. The November shipments were up 15% over $834.4 million in October, however. Orders for semiconductor equipment were 51% lower in November than a year ago. Bookings stood at just $805.0 million last month vs. $1.633 billion in November 1997. Compared to October, however, new equipment orders were up 29% from $623.5 million. The average shipments for November was $963 million, an increase of 15% over the October results, but 41% below the November 1997 figures. Booking for the month $805 million, a jump of 29% from the preceding month, but down 51% from the same period last year. SEMI calculates its figures using three-month average booking and shipment information.

To: Zeev Hed who wrote (20474)	12/18/1998 4:08:00 PM
From: BillyG	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25960

More from Sematech on EUV and Scalpel.... eet.com EUV, Scalpel systems get Sematech's support By David Lammers EE Times (12/18/98, 1:24 p.m. EDT) AUSTIN, Texas — A vote at the Next Generation Lithography Workshop, held in Colorado Springs, Colo. earlier this month, resulted in enough support for the EUV and Scalpel systems that International Sematech will focus much of its research on those two approaches next year. The goal is to have a lithography system in place by the year 2003 that is capable of 90-nanometer lithography. While that doesn't mean the death of X-ray and ion-beam projection lithography, it does mean that resources at International Sematech, based here, will be channeled into advancing the EUV and Scalpel systems, according to Gerhard Gross, an assignee from Siemens Corp. who is the director of the lithography program at International Sematech. Sematech spends about $40 million annually — nearly a third of its budget — on R&D of mask-making, photoresist, metrology, and other supporting technologies. The Sematech-sponsored NGL Workshop attracted 110 lithography experts, who heard half-day presentations from the sponsors of the four leading alternatives to optical lithography. A Sematech spokeman said many of the participants believe that taking DUV lithography a step further, to 157-nm wavelengths, is the best approach, but that depends on the development of lens materials that can withstand the damage from the fluoride laser source. While Sematech research in 1999 concentrates on furthering the mask and resist parts of the EUV and Scalpel approaches, the goal is to narrow the NGL research down to a single approach after the 1999 NGL Workshop late next year. Harry Calhoun, director of IBM's semiconductor research and development center at East Fishkill, N.Y., said, "There are big risks if we don't keep lithography pumping along. If the chips don't shrink, we can't bring performance and price improvements to the marketplace. Lithography is the key driver." ASML, one of the three largest lithography vendors, is considing putting its weight behind the EUV system, which is being developed by a consortium including Intel, AMD, Motorola, Silicon Valley Group Lithography and Ultratech. Scalpel is also backed by a consortium, though the members have not yet been made public by Lucent Technologies, the original developer of the scanning e-beam tool.