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Sematech thrust on 450mm fabs

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CIOL Bureau
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BANGALORE, INDIA: In a move that would effectively kick off research and development activities in the 450mm space within Sematech and other sites worldwide, the company has said that it has advanced much in its efforts aimed at this tool technology. The company has also gone ahead and announced new initiatives in this regard.

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The company has also kick started fab tool performance metrics for 450mm, besides revising the pitch tool standard from 10 to 12mm.

A company source has added that it is also aiming at a specific node for 450mm machines. And, as expected, the group is targeting 450mm demonstration tools for the 32nm node and pilot tools at 22nm. The chip-maker has already shipped 450mm silicon wafers for R&D purposes and also placed orders for metrology tools, besides advancing factory automation.

Ina scenario where Sematech is leading the 450mm effort, the chip-making consortium is witnessing Intel, TSMC and Samsung separately pushing for the debut of 450mm prototype fabs by year 2012. In the meantime, the chip-making consortium has gone on stream with a 450mm test bed in Austin, Texas.

Meanwhile, there is also a different opinion among companies that 450mm fabs may not ever happen as R&D costs are too expensive. However, Sematech will be processing 450mm wafers within the facility by the third quarter of 2009. It is being estimated that a 450mm fab might cost $10 billion to build. Sematech has said that R&D costs will be spread out among the member companies in the consortium, equipment suppliers and material makers.

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