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Pleasanton, CA - Wright Williams & Kelly, Inc. (WWK) announced recently the start of its 2008 survey on equipment and process timing in the semiconductor industry. The survey results will be consolidated and provided to all participants free of charge. The survey form can be downloaded from the WWK web site at: http://www.wwk.com/2008survey.pdf.

Last year's survey showed that 50% or more of respondents expect to see the following manufacturing technologies in production between 2008 and 2010:

• Adaptive Test
• High K gate dielectrics
• Metal gates
• Equipment with energy saving "sleep" states

Between 2010 and 2012, 50% or more of respondents expect to see:

• 193 high index immersion lithography
• Wafer-level reliability testing
• Damascene gate formation

However, survey respondents did not expect to see the following technologies in production until 2013 or beyond:

• EUV lithography
• Imprint lithography
• 450mm wafers

Daren Dance, WWK's Vice President of Technology, commented, "We were not surprised that the most frequent response to the question about 450mm wafer timing was 2013 or beyond but we were surprised that nearly 40% of respondents indicated that 450mm wafers would never happen in production manufacturing. This year's survey will look to see if those opinions, and others, have changed."

Based on the results of the 2007 survey, WWK initiated a detailed cost study of projected 450mm wafer costs compared to an equivalent 300mm process. Details are found in "An Economic Comparison of 450mm and 300mm Wafer Fabs," Wright Williams & Kelly, Inc. 2008, http://wwk.com/pr450.html.

With more than 3,000 users worldwide, Wright Williams & Kelly, Inc. is the largest privately held operational cost management software and consulting company serving technology-dependent and technology-driven organizations. WWK maintains long-term relationships with prominent industry resources including SEMATECH, SELETE, Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI), and national labs and universities. Its client base includes nearly all of the top 20 semiconductor manufacturers and equipment and materials suppliers as well as leaders in nanotechnology, micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), thin film record heads (TFH), magnetic media, flat panel displays (FPD), and photovoltaics (PV).

WWK's product line includes TWO COOL for detailed process step level cost of ownership (COO) and overall equipment efficiency (OEE), PRO COOL for process flow and test cell costing, Factory Commander for full factory capacity analysis and activity based costing, and Factory Explorer for cycle time reduction and WIP planning. Additionally, WWK offers a highly flexible product management software package that helps sales forces eliminate errors in product configuration and quotation processes.

SOURCE: Wright Williams & Kelly, Inc.