ISMI to Reveal Details on 450mm Wafer Transition Strategy at Austin Symposium.

AUSTIN, Texas -- International SEMATECH Manufacturing Initiative (ISMI) will preview its 2008 programs on productivity challenges in 300mm and 450mm wafer manufacturing, with an interactive meeting afterward, during ISMI Manufacturing Week Oct. 22-25 in Austin.

ISMI Fab Transition Strategy, scheduled from 3-5 p.m. Oct. 25, will include overviews of the consortium's Next Generation Factory (NGF) Vision, its 300mm NGF and 450mm NGF Transition programs, and a question-and-answer period. Following will be an hour-long interactive session where suppliers, chip-makers and other participants can meet with ISMI engineers and attend poster sessions on 450mm physical implementations.

The strategy meeting occurs on the final day of the ISMI Symposium for Manufacturing Effectiveness, Oct. 24-25 at the Hilton Austin Airport.

"Moving to the next wafer size is a monumental undertaking, and industry coordination is crucial to our success," said Tom Abell, manager of ISMI's wafer transition programs. "We learned from the 300mm transition that early engagement of suppliers is essential, along with realistic assessments of industry economics and business models."

"For these reasons, we're inviting Symposium participants to take an in-depth look at our core concepts for wafer transition, and the data supporting those concepts."

At the meeting, ISMI program leaders will describe:

* Model-driven directions for 300mm productivity improvement, including reduction of first-wafer and setup delays, increased tool availability, and investigation of small lot operations

* Next-wafer transition planning, including 450mm silicon development, factory integration guidelines and standards, creation of a test bed for factory-integration interoperability, and opportunities for supplier engagement and industry collaboration

* Exploration of factory simulation results to identify 300mm potentials for a 30 percent reduction in cost per wafer, and a 50 per cent reduction in cycle time

* Discussion of wafer transition guidelines and future expectations

The interactive session after the formal meeting is designed to give participants realistic examples of 450mm infrastructure. Poster sessions on silicon challenges, factory modeling, fab architecture, economic analysis, and NGF vision strategy also are planned.

"Participants will be able to communicate with the ISMI engineers who have done the research on next-wafer transition, and experience the physical aspects of the wafers, their carriers, and other supports," Abell said. "This will be an early look at our wafer-driven future - and an opportunity to participate in shaping it."

More information on the strategy meeting, the ISMI Symposium, and ISMI Manufacturing Week is available at this link (http://ismi.sematech.org/ismisymposium/).

ISMI is a global alliance of the world's major semiconductor manufacturers, dedicated to reducing cost per wafer, and ultimately cost per die, through cooperative programs focused on manufacturing effectiveness. The consortium conducts programs in manufacturing infrastructure, methods, standards, and productivity, with the aim of reducing the costs of producing finished wafers and chips and driving solutions to major productivity challenges. ISMI is a wholly owned subsidiary of SEMATECH of Austin, TX. More information is available at http://ismi.sematech.org/corporate/index.htm.