300 mm Progress Report

摘要

Two dozen fabs around the world are now experiencing the benefits of production on 300 mm wafers. The ability to fabricate more than twice as many die on a 300 vs. 200 mm wafer for a relatively small premium in equipment and facility costs has led to significant cost savings of about 30% per wafer. As the semiconductor industry begins to add capacity after an extended downturn, those companies that have made the investment in 300 mm are expected to have a key competitive edge. Looking back, the move to 300 mm has been a long and bumpy road. It was 1995 when the industry agreed that 300 mm should be the next wafer size and that production on these large-diameter wafers should begin in 1998. Equipment suppliers heeded the call and introduced the first generation of equipment in 1996 and 1997. Then came a downturn, which delayed the move to 300 mm production. The industry rebounded in 2000, but so quickly (and so uncertainly) that most companies felt safer adding ca- expected to come on-line.