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

To: Duker who wrote (28456)	2/19/1999 11:42:00 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 70976

Applied Materials' Epi Centura selected by LETI to advance SiGe process development SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Applied Materials Inc. today said that it has sold an Epi Centura system to Laboratoire de Technologies et d'Instrumentation (LETI), the French advanced microelectronics research center based in Grenoble. LETI will use the system to develop silicon germanium (SiGe) and silicon germanium carbon (SiGeC) process technologies. In connection with the purchase, Applied Materials will collaborate with LETI to develop and optimize the new SiGe and SiGeC process technologies for future high-performance devices. "The Epi Centura, along with Applied Materials' applications expertise, provide us with the right solution to create and enhance silicon germanium-based processes for advanced circuit designs," said Christophe Wyon of LETI. "Based on many previous and current collaborations with Applied Materials, we have a high regard for its technology and world-class support. We expect our new development arrangement with Applied Materials, which includes an exploration of low-temperature pre-clean technology, to provide added value to our research." The Epi Centura's ultra-low pressure and low-temperature technology are especially well suited for silicon germanium applications, said Grant Imper, general manager of Applied Materials' Epi Division. "As a result, customers are expected to be able to quickly characterize new silicon germanium-based processes and bring them to market using the same platform," he added. According to Stan Bruederle, chief analyst for RF semiconductors and fiber optic modules at market research firm Dataquest, "Silicon germanium is starting to appear on technology roadmaps for high-speed data communications and wireless devices. This shift is due to the record high frequencies, low power consumption and miniaturization enabled by silicon germanium. Given these advantages, we expect to see silicon germanium-based chips used in future products ranging from cellular phones to fiber optic communications systems to satellite communications systems." Silicon germanium carbon is a new material, which may enable even higher transistor speeds than standard SiGe applications. Unlike gallium arsenide (GaAs), both SiGe and SiGeC are complementary to silicon and require minimal modification to existing manufacturing lines, making SiGe-based chips more cost effective to produce. LETI is an advanced electronics and instrumentation laboratory under the Commissaria a l'Energie Atomique. The principal customer for its microelectronics activities is ST Microelectronics. semibiznews.com