| To: SemiBull who wrote (848) | 10/18/2003 4:27:17 PM |
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Heard on the Beat: Two 157-nm machines to whom?
By Silicon Strategies
10/17/2003 11:40 AM EST
URL: siliconstrategies.com 
LONDON -- During a conference call with Doug Dunn, president and chief executive officer of ASML Holding NV, one analyst asked Dunn why the backlog of 157-nm wavelength lithography machines had decreased during the company's third quarter.
"Because we delivered two machines," Dunn answered.
None of the analysts on the telephone conference call ventured to ask Dunn to whom those machines had been delivered, either because they already knew, or because they wished to preserve the impression that they already knew.
Now one of those financial analysts has told Silicon Strategies that he believes the recipients of the two beta tools are STMicroelectronics and either Infineon Technologies AG or IBM Microelectronics.
STMicroelectronics certainly makes sense, being at the heart of the Crolles2 alliance that includes Philips Semiconductors, which has worked on ASML's prototype machine installed at IMEC.
The analyst said that in addition to STM, Infineon and IBM, he believes Philips, Texas Instruments, Philips and Samsung are still backing the technology, but he also said he expects many of them to take a leaf out of TSMC's book (see October 14 story) and announce they are dropping 157-nm lithography in the coming months. |
