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To: orkrious who wrote (2064)	3/13/1999 11:15:00 AM
From: Henry Eichorszt	Respond to of 3813

Semico summit spotlights SOC, embedded mkts. SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 1999 2:05 AM EST - CMP Media Mar. 12, 1999 (Electronic Buyers News - CMP via COMTEX) -- Phoenix- As embedded applications become more prevalent, system-on-a-chip technology continues to rapidly emerge-particularly in non-PC markets such as the automotive, communications, and consumer sectors, executives said last week at Semico Research Corp.'s annual summit here. The industry is banking on many new markets whose volume is expected to accelerate in the next several years. "The PC world will continue to grow and provide opportunities for us, but we're seeing an increase in the embedded world," said Hector de J. Ruiz, president of Motorola Inc.'s Semiconductor Products Sector, Austin, Texas. "We have to be able to integrate systems [onto] a chip. It's necessary for embedded systems." Shipments of microprocessors, microcontrollers, and DSP chips for non-PC and non-workstation applications totaled $8.5 billion in 1998 and will grow to $11 billion this year and $25 billion in 2003, said Semico analyst Tony Massimini. But it's difficult to measure SOC shipments because the technology is still new, he said, adding that as SOC applications accelerate and the industry better defines the term, $25 billion may be a low estimate. One of the industry's major goals is to develop integrated devices that enhance connectivity demands. "Numerous devices will allow people to seamlessly access information and communicate with each other," said Bharat Gupte, vice president and general manager of the Standard Business Products unit at Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Oki Semiconductor. "Bandwidth is necessary for getting there." High-speed connectivity, which goes hand in hand with increased bandwidth, is spurring the shift to copper wiring on ICs, executives said. The transition to copper from dual-damascene aluminum is happening faster than anticipated as the market moves to address the need for smaller, lower-power, higher-speed products, particularly in emerging markets, said Richard S. Hill, chairman and chief executive of Novellus Systems Inc., San Jose. The technology has the potential to boost device performance by a factor of four and cut its cost in half, Hill added. Future-generation ICs will require reduced interconnect delays and better reliability, according to Roger Innes, president of Comdisco Inc.'s Electronics Group, Rosemont, Ill. "Copper was identified as the best candidate for replacing aluminum," he said. "Additional interconnect-delay reduction will be achieved with the use of low-k dielectrics." But introduction costs will be high-fab tool purchases for copper processing will exceed $500 million in 1999 and grow to $3 billion in 2003, according to Innes. High initial costs and technical problems cloud the picture, he said, adding that the process and materials are still in development. There are also technical and business challenges in combining logic, memory, and processing on a single chip. Devising a strategy can be difficult because of the many approaches to, and different definitions of, SOC. -Corinne Bernstein contributed to this story. By: Jennifer L. Baljko Copyright 1999 CMP Media Inc.