First U.S. Pure-Play Foundry Ships Production Qualified Product Ahead of Plan; TSMC and WaferTech Ahead by a Month.CAMAS, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 7, 1998--WaferTech, the first-ever, pure-play foundry in the United States, shipped production qualified, 0.35-micron, 8-inch FLEX 10K PLD (Programmable Logic Device) Refers to a variety of logic chips that are programmable at the customer's site, the customer being the vendor of the finished chip, not the end user. wafers to Altera this week, one month ahead of plan. WaferTech utilizes the same equipment set, process recipes and mask sets used at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC TSMC Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd TSMC Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation TSMC Traffic Systems Management Center TSMC Toll Station Management Controller TSMC Transportation Supply Maintenance Command TSMC Technical Services Manager Code ) fabrication fabrication (fab´rikā´sh  n),n the construction or making of a restoration. facilities in Hsin-Chu, Taiwan. Through this technology transfer, WaferTech has produced 0.35-micron logic and SRAM See static RAM. SRAM - static random-access memory wafers with matching physical and electrical characteristics to the world-class products of TSMC. "With WaferTech on-line and shipping, TSMC customers gain another assured source for wafers produced to our standards of excellence," said Ron Norris, president of TSMC, USA and a director of WaferTech. "Now TSMC is the only foundry in the world to transparently support customers from geographically dispersed sites." Denis Denis, king of Portugal: see Diniz. Berlan, Altera's chief operating officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. said, "We achieved our goal of high yields and total product compatibility with this first batch of production wafers. Now Altera can draw on multiple sources of high quality silicon to meet our customers' high density PLD needs." WaferTech, located in the Pacific Northwest's Silicon Forest, is operated seamlessly as a partner in the TSMC family of fabs. This includes manufacturing technology, operations discipline and the "Virtual Fab" customer support that distinguishes TSMC's service throughout the world. "This first production success is evidence of the entrepreneurial spirit throughout WaferTech," commented Ken Smith, president and chief operating officer of the Camas, Wash. company. "People here are excited about starting the first pure-play foundry in the United States and matching the levels of product quality and service of the world's leading foundry." Working with TSMC, WaferTech is moving quickly to advance the process technologies it offers. The company is now prototyping at the 0.3-micron level and expects to reach 0.25-micron in the fourth quarter of 1998. Advances to 0.18-micron will follow in 1999. About WaferTech Founded in June 1996, WaferTech is a joint venture of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Altera Corp., Analog Devices Inc., and Integrated Silicon Solutions Inc. Located in Camas, Washington, WaferTech is the first U.S. semiconductor manufacturing start-up company start-up company A new business. in more than a decade and is exclusively dedicated to manufacturing the proprietary integrated circuits of its customers. Modeled on well-established TSMC systems, WaferTech's advanced manufacturing processes and operations discipline offers TSMC's customers proven technology from a U.S. fab. WaferTech works with customers seamlessly through TSMC and the TSMC "Virtual Fab." More information about WaferTech is available on the World Wide Web at (www.wafertech.com). About TSMC TSMC (ADS traded NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : TSM TSM Tivoli Storage Manager TSM Transportation System Management TSM Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (stock symbol) TSM Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. , also traded on TSE See Tokyo Stock Exchange. TSE 1. See Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). 2. See Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE). ) is the world's largest dedicated integrated circuit (IC) foundry and offers a comprehensive set of IC fabrication processes, including processes to manufacture CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) Pronounced "c-moss." The most widely used integrated circuit design. It is found in almost every electronic product from handheld devices to mainframes. logic, mixed-mode, volatile and non-volatile memory and BiCMOS chips. Currently, TSMC operates two 6-inch wafer fabs (Fab 1 and 2) and three 8-inch wafer fabs (Fab 3, 4 and 5), all located in Hsin-Chu, Taiwan. In mid-1996, TSMC commenced construction with its joint venture partners on the $1.2-billion WaferTech foundry in the United States. Fabs 6 and 7 are expected to be located in the new Tainan Park in Taiwan. TSMC's corporate headquarters are in Taiwan. More information about TSMC is available through the World Wide Web at (www.wafertech.com). Altera, FLEX and specific device designations are trademarks and/or service marks of Altera Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.
CONTACT: TSMC, USA
Ron Norris, 408/437-8762
rnorris@tsmc.com
or
WaferTech
Loretta Callahan, 360/817-3075
lcallahan@wafertech.com
or
Ken Smith, 360/817-3000
ksmith@wafertech.com
or
Pacifico Integrated Marketing
Mary Curtis, 408/293-8600
mcurtis@pacifico.com
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion