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To: Tony Viola who wrote (29363)	4/2/1999 10:17:00 AM
From: Duker	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 70976

Taiwanese DRAM makes deal for finer process technologies A service of Semiconductor Business News, CMP Media Inc. Story posted 9 a.m. EST/6 a.m., PST, 4/2/99 By Mark Carroll HSINCHU, Taiwan ( ChipWire/EBN)-- Looking to move toward more profitable process geometries, two of Taiwan's DRAM makers last week announced partnership deals that will allow them to produce DRAMs in sub-0.25-micron technology. Toshiba Corp. announced that it will transfer leading-edge 0.15-micron and 0.17-micron CMOS process technologies to Winbond Electronics Corp. for use in building 64-, 128- and 256-megabit DRAMs. The potential for profit at finer geometries is impressive. Using 0.25-micron technology, about 350 64-Mbit die can potentially come from a single 8-inch wafer. At 0.2 micron, the potential yield goes to 550 die, and at 0.17 micron it jumps to 800 die per 8-inch wafer. Price is still a major concern for DRAM and a major force behind the move to smaller geometries. A 64-Mbit DRAM was selling for $9.50 in February, but pricing has fallen recently. "On the spot market, 64-Mbit DRAM is going for as low as $7.50," said Don Floyd, an analyst or ING Barings. Winbond hopes to begin producing of 128-Mbit DRAM at its Fab 4 using 0.17-micron technology in the third quarter of this year, a Winbond spokesman said. "We are also currently building our Fab 5 which will be capable of producing DRAM at 0.17 micron and below. We will begin pilot runs in our Fab 5 in the third quarter of this year." Winbond will supply Toshiba with DRAM on an OEM basis. Part of its production will also be marketed under Winbond's own brand using those technologies. Even though Winbond gets access to high-end technology, the OEM contract heavily favors Toshiba. "For the first year, Toshiba gets about 80 percent of production at a very good price," said a securities analyst here. "In the second year it drops to 65 percent, and then its a 50-50 split in the third year." Winbond can extend its product lines up to 256-Mbit DRAM using the leading-edge process technologies transferred from Toshiba. Under the contract, Winbond engineers will be trained for the process technologies at Toshiba's microelectronics technology laboratory and Yokkaichi plant. Toshiba engineers will also assist Winbond in building up its production lines at its factory, company officials said. Toshiba and Winbond first established a DRAM alliance when Toshiba transferred its 16-Mbit DRAM and high-speed SRAM technologies to Winbond in December 1995. Since then, the companies have expanded the arrangement to include production technologies for 64-Mbit and 256-Mbit DRAM using a 0.20-micron design rule. Nan Ya Technology Corp. also is refining its DRAM production capabilities. Nan Ya plans to ramp up production of 64-Mbit DRAM in the fourth quarter of this year, and has already begun developing 128-Mbit DRAM and Rambus DRAM chips. Using technology transfers from IBM, a company executive said that Nan Ya will be able to skip over the use of 0.25-micron manufacturing technology and begin to make 64-Mbit DRAMs in 0.20-micron technology. "We will move to a 0.20-micron process in the third quarter of this year," said Charles Kao, president of Nan Ya. "This year we will concentrate on 64 Mbit, moving to 128 Mbit and 256 Mbit next year. Our roadmap for 256 Mbit is not yet clear however." Nan Ya had losses of about $110 million in 1998 due to sliding DRAM prices. However, the company has recovered since November due to a fourth-quarter rebound in DRAM prices, and to its efforts to cut production costs for 16-Mbit DRAMs. Its success in mass producing 64-Mbit DRAMs will largely decide the company's performance in 1999. Nan Ya's first fab has a monthly output of 22,000 units, most of which are 16-Mbit DRAMs made with 0.28-micron technology. After starting production of 64-Mbit DRAMs, monthly output will rise to 30,000 units, of which 20,000 units will be made with 0.20-micron and 0.175-micron technology, and the remaining 10,000 units will be made using 0.28-micron technology. Nan Ya's second IC fabrication facility has been completed. "We will complete equipment loading in our Fab 2 by the end of this year," said Kao.

To: Tony Viola who wrote (29363)	4/2/1999 10:21:00 AM
From: Duker	Respond to of 70976

Capital equipment sales sank 21% last year, says SEMI A service of Semiconductor Business News, CMP Media Inc. Story posted 9 a.m. EST/6 a.m., PST, 4/2/99 MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- The worldwide semiconductor equipment industry suffered a 21% drop in shipments in 1998, according to figures released here by Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI). The total for 1998 was $21.8 billion, down from the $27.6 billion in sales posted in 1997. These totals are reported in the "SEMI Worldwide SEMS Report," compiled from data submitted by members of SEMI and the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan. Silicon wafer manufacturers had one of their worst years, brought on by an oversupply of 200-mm wafers and a delay in the transition to 300-mm wafers. Shipments for the segment were $122 million in 1998, down 62% from the $325 million posted in 1997. On the bright side, the semiconductor mask and reticle manufacturing equipment segment increased in 1998 to $701 million, up 12% from$626 million the year before. Increasingly complex chip designs and longer mask production times helped increase the demand for mask-making capacity. Regionally, the Asian markets bore a larger portion of the industry downturn, reflecting last year's financial crisis. Total semiconductor equipment sales in Korea declined to $1.3 billion, down 51% from $2.6 billion in 1997. Shipments in Japan reached $4.7 billion, down 31% from the $6.8 billion the year before. The rapid growth of the Taiwanese market did carry over somewhat into 1998, with sales reaching $3.3 billion, down 14% from $3.8 billion in 1997. Other regions, while faring better, still felt the effects of the down market. Sales in Europe declined almost 6% to $2.9 billion, while North American shipments fell to $7.6 billion, 17% below the $9.1 billion in sales posted in 1997. "The totals for 1998 confirm what we knew and felt all year: 1998 was a tough year for our industry and all of our members," said Stanley T. Myers, president of SEMI. "The upside is that most segments seemed to hit their low point late in the third quarter and have been steadily improving since. If there's a silver lining, it's that the industry ended 1998 on an up note and now appears to be stabilizing and headed towards recovery."