IC Production on 450-mm Wafers: Still Never

Recent Survey of Semiconductor Industry Insiders Reconfirms Future Battle Lines

July 10, 2008 (Pleasanton, CA) –Wright Williams & Kelly, Inc. (WWK), a cost & productivity management software and consulting services company, announced today the results of its annual survey on equipment and process timing in the semiconductor industry. The details behind this survey are currently being distributed to survey respondents. Some of the compiled results include:

Between 2010 and 2012, 50% or more of respondents expect to see:
   • 193 high index immersion lithography
   • Wafer-level reliability testing
   • Imprint lithography

However, survey respondents did not expect to see the following technologies in production until 2014 or beyond:
   • EUV lithography
   • 450-mm wafers
   • Directed self assembly nanoresists

Respondents also expect productivity advances from ISMI’s 300-mm Prime project to be implemented on an ongoing basis.

Daren Dance, WWK’s Vice President of Technology commented, “We were not surprised that the most frequent response to the question about 450-mm wafer timing was 2015 or beyond but we were surprised that over half of the respondents indicated that 450-mm wafers would never happen in production manufacturing. This was an increase in negative sentiment over the 2007 results. Thus, we expect that fabs can plan on a significant useful life from their current investments in 300-mm manufacturing equipment.”

With more than 3,000 users worldwide, Wright Williams & Kelly, Inc. is the largest privately held operational cost management software and consulting company serving technology-dependent and technology-driven organizations. WWK maintains long-term relationships with prominent industry resources including SEMATECH, SELETE, Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI), and national labs and universities. Its client base includes nearly all of the top 20 semiconductor manufacturers and equipment and materials suppliers as well as leaders in nanotechnology, micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), thin film record heads, magnetic media, flat panel displays (FPD), and photovoltaics (PV).

In addition to its professional consulting and market research services, WWK’s product line includes TWO COOL® for detailed process step level cost of ownership (COO) and overall equipment efficiency (OEE), PRO COOL® for process flow and test cell costing, Factory Commander® for full factory capacity analysis and activity based costing, and Factory Explorer® for cycle time reduction and WIP planning. Additionally, WWK offers a highly flexible product management software package that helps sales forces eliminate errors in product configuration and quotation processes.

Call today for more information from Wright Williams & Kelly, Inc. Providing software solutions for productivity measurement and enhancement since 1991.