Investment & expansion
DuPont Photomasks is installing a leading-edge photomask production line at its advanced production facility in Round Rock, Texas. The aim is to support semiconductor devices at volume production with 90nm design rules and prototype devices with 65nm design rules. The total investment represents more than $30mn.
The new line includes a JEOL JBX-3030MV e-beam pattern generator, a KLA-Tencor 576 inspection system, a Rave advanced repair system, a next-generation dry etcher and additional upgrades to process equipment.
The new line is expected to come on line quickly and ramp to commercial production volumes by early 2005. The company is currently operating a JBX-3030MV pattern generator in its Taiwan facility, and a KLA-Tencor 576 inspection system in its new Dresden campus in Germany - the most advanced photomask development and production centre in the world.
Technology developer Innos has added a Nikon NSR-2005/i9C i-line 'step-and-repeat system' to its clean room capabilities. The lens of the NSR-2005/i9C achieves a resolution of 0.45microns and has a maximum exposure field of 22x22mm, with 6inch recticles depending on the customer's needs.
The facility, based in Southampton, UK, applies its expertise in silicon, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and nanotechnologies. In the past six months, Innos has invested heavily in its lithography capabilities including the installation of the UK's first JBX-9300FS electron-beam lithography system in June. It now boasts high volume wafer throughput, with photolithography capabilities down to 10nm. These new installations at the Innos 1000m2 cleanroom in Southampton, combined with a 30 strong team, provide a full service for organisations that have a requirement for wafer processing of any scale and volume.
Applied Materials marked its 20th anniversary in China with events to celebrate the company's history and initiatives in the region. Applied Materials opened a service centre in Beijing in 1984 and today supports the largest installed base of chip manufacturing equipment in China, with some 400 employees in five offices serving a growing number of semiconductor manufacturers.
To add to the celebration, the company committed an additional $1mn over the next five years to the Applied Materials Shanghai R&D Fund established in 1994 with a matching contribution of $1mn coming from the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai's local government. The fund provides technology research assistance and scholarships to engineering students. Applied Materials executives presented scholarships to 32 Shanghai students, bringing the total number of scholarships awarded by the programme to 168.
