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TITLE: IBM EXPANDS MOSIS ACCESS TO ITS CMOS FAB
IBM Microelectronics announced on 3 Oct 2002 that it plans to
expand MOSIS access to its CMOS technologies, including its
0.13- and 0.18-micron production processes with copper wire
technology, for use in the Marina Del Rey, Calif.-based
company's Multi-Project Wafer (MPW) services.
IBM Microelectronics also plans to offer MOSIS access to its
0.25-micron CMOS production process, which has been enhanced for
radio frequency applications. Low-volume production would be
offered through MOSIS' MPW services. IBM's silicon germanium
(SiGe) technology, which has been a part of MPW services since
the initiative launched last year, is still available, the
companies said.
The collaboration is an expansion of an existing initiative
designed to help emerging companies and universities that are
developing new chip designs. Most of these advanced chip designs
don't get made because their limited quantity makes it
economically impractical. To solve this problem, IBM partnered
with MOSIS in March 2001 to provide SiGe wafer manufacturing
services to MOSIS.
MOSIS is an independent service organization that offers a single
interface for companies and universities who want to share
overhead costs associated with the development and production of
microchips. Since the initiative was launched, more than 150
customers have used IBM's SiGe technology through MOSIS, the
companies said.
"IBM has a comprehensive suite of foundry services for a wide
range of industry-standard technologies, including all the latest
semiconductor production processes," said Kenneth Torino,
director of foundry products, IBM Microelectronics. "Through the
MPW initiative, the community of talented chip designers who
normally would not have an opportunity to have their chips
manufactured using IBM process technologies can tap into our
expertise."
Under the MPW initiative, customers share development and
manufacturing expenses by submitting separate chip designs to be
consolidated and manufactured together on a single wafer. MOSIS
contracts directly with customers to integrate multiple chip
designs onto a single mask set and arrange for prototype
production of the chips at IBM's chip-making facility in
Burlington, VT.
Editor: The above announcement is posted at: IBM News
Technical information required for submitting designs: MOSIS-IBM
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IBM MICRO CUTS 1,500 WORKERS, ADDS DESIGN DIVISION
IBM CHANGES
AUSTIN, Texas: In a restructuring intended to create a
counterweight to Asia's fast-growing foundries, IBM Corp.'s
Microelectronics Division announced Tuesday (June 4) a major push
into the high-end foundry business, and said it would lay off
1,500 engineers and technicians from its older manufacturing
operations.
The foundry push promises to heighten competition for Taiwan
Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and United Microelectronics
Corp., which have rushed to bring up 0.13-micron process
technology ahead of other foundry players. IBM has manufactured
chips on a foundry basis for several years, and counts Qualcomm
Corp., Xilinx Inc. and others as major customers.
But until the current downturn, IBM had little capacity to devote
to foundry work as it struggled to meet demand from ASIC
customers and to make chips for the game machines of Nintendo
Ltd.
That will change in early August when IBM brings up initial
manufacturing at its first 300-mm wafer fabrication facility,
located at East Fishkill, N.Y.
In a telephone interview, Michael Mayer, general manager of IBM
Microelectronics, said that IBM is in some areas de-emphasizing
development of its own standard products which might compete with
those from leading-edge fabless companies.
Last year, IBM sold its optoelectronics group to JDS Uniphase
Corp. and decided to cease further development of wireless chips
sets, power amplifiers and some other standard products.
"We have a three-pronged push. We want to continue to grow our
ASIC business, center our standard product offerings around the
PowerPC, and really strengthen our high-end foundry business,"
Mayer said. "In foundry, we intend to concentrate on those high-
end customers who need the technology leadership that IBM can
provide them."
Michael Concannon was named vice president of IBM's newly formed
foundry and manufacturing services business unit as part of the
restructuring.
Product development pared
Mayer declined to be specific about layoffs but said they would
include some development groups for products that are being
discontinued.
About 950 of the 1,500 workers affected by the layoffs announced
Tuesday are manufacturing engineers and technicians who work in
Burlington, Vt. While they are not fab workers, most of the
affected employees support the aluminum-based manufacturing lines
there, Mayer said.
A smaller number of engineers will be laid off from development
groups for products being discontinued. About 200 people at East
Fishkill and about 100 at the company's facility in Endicott,
N.Y. are also being cut. Others are dispersed throughout other
IBM sites.
The 1,500 employees who are losing their positions may apply for
openings elsewhere in the company, so the final number of
reductions is expected to be less than 1,500, an IBM spokesman
said. After the layoffs, the microelectronics division will
employ 19,000.
Mayer said he believes the 300-mm fab in East Fishkill has the
world's best fab control and automation technology. IBM also
believes it has a lead in combining copper interconnects with a
low-k dielectrics at 0.13-micron design rules. By early next
year, IBM is expected to begin offering 90-nanometer (0.09-
micron) technology, though Mayer declined to say when the company
will start offering that next-generation process.
Mature view
IBM's new foundry focus was lacking in the past, Mayer said.
"There was a point in time where we tried to assess whether we
could penetrate the standard product areas, mainly in networking
and communications. As we have matured our understanding of the
market, in the standard products area we want to concentrate on
PowerPC and related product areas like Infiniband and network
processing.
"Then what we want to do is be a major player as a high-end
foundry, really using our process leadership and ride our core
competency there, partnering with leading-edge fabless
companies," Mayer said.
The company's silicon germanium BiCMOS, and silicon-on-insulator
(SOI) technologies will be included in the foundry effort, he
said.
IBM also announced Tuesday the formation of a design services
business unit within the overall technology group. With an
initial 600 employees, the design services group will develop
systems and board-level products for customers, and design chips
for customers of IBM Microelectronics' ASIC division. It will
also provide design, test, verification, prototyping and
manufacturing services for chips, boards and systems.
Employees from IBM's server and microelectronics divisions will
be transferred to the design services business unit, which will
be headed by Pat Toole, the former vice president in charge of
IBM's customer-owned tooling manufacturing operations.
The moves come a day after IBM and Hitachi Ltd. formally agreed
to a joint venture that will transfer much of IBM's magnetic
drive division to Hitachi. The Japanese company will pay IBM $2
billion for its hard-disk drive assets, which were part of IBM's
technology group.
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FILENUMBER: 1082
BEGIN_KEYWORDS
IBM MOSIS CMOS FAB
END_KEYWORDS
DATE: October 2002
TITLE: IBM EXPANDS MOSIS ACCESS TO ITS CMOS FAB
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