Mar 19 2008
Novellus Systems today announced it has shipped its 100th 300 mm tool into China, marking a major milestone in its growth in the region.
The 100th tool – a VECTOR Express™ CVD platform – has been selected by Wuhan Xinxin Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation for its new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Wuhan, China, which is operated and managed by Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC).
Novellus has been an active participant in the growth of semiconductor manufacturing in China – with installations of all its major 200 mm and 300 mm product lines among Chinese customers. According to SEMI’s estimate, China will experience continued growth as processes with 180nm to 90nm feature sizes become mainstream over the next three years. At the same time, 300 mm tools will dominate spending in the new equipment market.* The Wuhan fab is poised to be part of this growth, as one of the largest and most advanced foundries in China.
“Fabs in China that are ramping up their 300 mm facilities are looking for high-productivity tools that will give them the maximum return on their investment,” said Tom Caulfield, executive vice president of sales, marketing and customer service at Novellus. “We are very pleased to be working with Wuhan Xinxin Semiconductor to provide the efficiencies, economics and performance they require.”
“Wuhan Xinxin Semiconductor is the first 300 mm fab in central China,” said John Liu, vice president of the Wuhan project at SMIC. “Continued improvements in productivity are critical in delivering advanced technologies. Novellus’ products, such as the production-proven VECTOR Express, are instrumental to achieving our goal.”
Posted March 18th,2008