U.S. chip makers rail against Japanese

Article Abstract:

US chip makers are not pleased that US manufacturers have less than 20 percent of the market share for integrated circuits in Japan, and plans are being made to impose trade sanctions if the situation does not improve. Some executives in the semiconductor industry believe that the Japanese have not tried hard enough to meet the 20 percent mark. The Semiconductor Industry Association is meeting in Washington to discuss political pressure, lobbying efforts and potential sanctions. Japanese companies purchased $20.9 million in chips in 1991, 38 percent of the $54.6 million international market. A major chip-trade agreement was made in 1986 which then led to sanctions in 1987 after Japan did not comply with guidelines. US companies would like to step up the pressure on Japanese companies, but recognize that the recession has affected the Japanese economy as well. Sony and NEC are two companies that have been commended for trying to improve the trade situation.

Japan, Integrated circuits, International trade, International relations, Sony Corp., NEC Corp., Market share, Foreign Competition

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Thin means power in chip maker's art

Article Abstract:

Integrated circuit manufacturers wage an endless struggle to reduce the size of circuits so that more can fit on each chip. Today's factories use light waves to draw circuits that are about 0.8 microns wide, with the thinnest circuits being about 0.4 microns wide, but these specifications are not adequate. Manufacturers want to make 0.25-micron circuits by the late 1990s, but light waves are simply too 'fat' to do this. X-ray lithography, involving wave lengths as narrow as 0.0008 microns, is an adequate technology, but it is expensive. An X-ray light source can cost as much as $20 million. Some companies, including Intel Corp, are looking at research into particle beam technologies, which would bypass X-rays, promising the possibility to etch 0.1 micron circuit patterns directly into silicon, using computer-guided beams of electrons or protons.

Special industry machinery, not elsewhere classified, Research, Methods, Usage, Intel Corp., INTC, Equipment and supplies, Integrated circuit fabrication, Industrial research, Semiconductor production equipment industry, Semiconductor production equipment, X-rays, Semiconductors, Particle beams, column, Research and Development, Packaging Density, Miniaturization, Semiconductor Industry, Particle Physics, Photolithography, X-ray lithography

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