Supplying Production-Worthy Technology is a Must
The role of equipment suppliers is not only developing the technology, but making it production worthy.
Staff -- Semiconductor International, 4/1/1998
The semiconductor industry has always been known for pushing the boundaries of technology. Through a combination of ever increasing technology innovations and clever chip designs, semiconductor devices have been doing more things, doing them faster and doing them for more people.
The development of this technology has historically been driven by semiconductor manufacturers. The market for equipment specifically designed for semiconductor manufacturing eventually developed as a result. Many people left manufacturing companies specifically to found equipment companies to meet needs that they saw were not being met. Now, the equipment market has become a $20 billion a year market. Strong relationships exist between equipment suppliers and their customers, in which suppliers develop products for the future needs of their customers.
Development of the 150 mm and 200 mm technology generations were spearheaded by large chip manufacturers, with a great deal of help from their equipment suppliers and from collaborative efforts such as those through SEMATECH. The transition to 300 mm technology will be the most difficult transition yet, and asking chip manufacturers to bear the brunt of the research and development work may not be possible.
The importance of the design aspect, also known as intellectual property, has grown, and so has the importance of cycle time. They differentiate one chip manufacturer from another. Knowing what to make, realizing it in existing technology and doing it all before a competitor is what makes a chip manufacturer successful. Chip manufacturers have been depending more on intellectual property advances and cycle time reductions to stay successful and less on technology development.
However, the technology has to keep advancing to make new devices possible, and it is doing just that. An increasing amount of upcoming technology is considered by chipmakers as "precompetitive." In other words, it is more important for them to have the technology than to have it exclusively. Chipmakers are looking for more precompetitive technologies to be developed for them, and the burden of developing those technologies has been falling more on the shoulders of equipment suppliers.
Of course, using the term precompetitive to describe a given technology does not mean that competition over that technology's development has disappeared. It means that the competition has shifted from chip manufacturers to equipment suppliers. The role of equipment suppliers is not only developing the technology, but making it production worthy.
The semiconductor industry depends on advanced equipment, materials and process control tools to continue advancing as it has, and these things are essentially being supplied in the form of commercial products. It is the excellence of these products that will enable the industry to advance. This year, Semiconductor International will be recognizing the excellence of these products for the 10th time.
The Editors' Choice Best Products Program at SI recognizes each deserving product in a unique way. It begins with a user of the product in the semiconductor industry contacting us and telling us that it is worthy of consideration. In that way, only products that are proven can be considered. If you are using a product that enhances your ability to produce semiconductor devices, please nominate it. Your nomination will be held in total confidence, and it will not be construed as an endorsement. It can easily be done through the new SI web site, www.Semiconductor.Net. Suppliers of the best products deserve recognition for their efforts now more than ever.
