GUILDFORD, ENGLAND:Pioneering the European electronics industry’s efforts for sustainable manufacturing of semiconductors, Linde Gases, a division of The Linde Group, has installed Europe’s first CE-marked on-site electronics grade fluorine (F2) generator at STMicroelectronics’ Crolles 300mm wafer fabrication plant in France.
As part of STMicroelectronics’ initiative to lower the environmental impact of producing semiconductors, high-pressure cylinder F2 has been replaced by two new Linde Generation-F on-site fluorine generators –- providing a low pressure, fully redundant supply of high purity F2 and eliminating the need to transport to and keep cylinders on site.
The Linde fluorine generators and ancillary equipment combine proven technology with intrinsically safe design to provide STMicroelectronics an on-demand, safe and highly reliable source of pure F2 for Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) chamber cleaning.
One cylinder of hydrogen fluoride (used as the source material for the on-site generator) provides the same amount of F2 to the fab as 100 high pressure F2 cylinders – significantly reducing maintenance workload, while the very low system pressure provides much greater safety for all STMicroelectronics engineers.
“As operators of thermal CVD furnaces look to optimize costs and minimize risk through stricter safety requirements, Linde is seeing a quicker pace of adoption for on-site generated fluorine,” said Greg Shuttleworth, Semiconductor Product Manager for Linde Gases Division. “We are also seeing increasing interest in using F2 as an alternative to NF3 for the cleaning of Plasma-Enhanced CVD chambers due to concerns over the very high global warming potential of NF3 and imminent legislation that could restrict its use.”
“The installation of Europe’s first on-site fluorine generators at our Crolles wafer fabrication plant is testament to STMicroelectronics’ commitment to increasing safety and improving our eco-footprint,” said David Ferrand, Director of Facilities at the Crolles 200 and Crolles 300 fabs. “We have directly reduced our carbon footprint at Crolles 300mm by eliminating cylinder deliveries. We are excited by the potential for even greater environmental efficiency by using the generation capacity in other cleaning applications.”
Previously, every cylinder change was an opportunity for contamination of the system, but now the STMicroelectronics Crolles 300mm facility has much greater reliability of gas box components by eliminating these frequent changes. There is also less hazardous waste as there is no need to purge cylinders to ensure they are completely empty before changing, increasing savings and reducing the load on ST's abatement systems.
The Linde Generation-F on-site fluorine generator has been through extensive third-party safety evaluations and can now add the CE Mark to the SEMI S2 certificate among its list of national and industry recognised safety standards.
In addition to the generators themselves, Linde’s ancillary buffer and abatement systems, which safely deliver variable amounts of fluorine, have also been CE-marked and SEMI S2 certified. Including those at STMicroelectronics, Linde has supplied and operates nearly 30 Generation-F systems worldwide to meet the semiconductor, display and photovoltaic industries’ chamber cleaning needs.
STMicroelectronics' programs to reduce the use of energy, water and chemicals at all sites are the foundation of its longstanding eco-efficiency approach to environmental stewardship. STMicroelectronics considers the management of the chemicals it uses, along with climate change, as the most important environmental issues, and has been reducing chemical consumption by more than five percent a year, on average, since 1998.
Showing posts with label Europe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Europe. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
No escape for global chip suppliers in miserable Q1
EL SEGUNDO, USA: From Paris to Tokyo, from the biggest broad-line suppliers to the most modest boutiques, from high-fliers serving hot markets to low-profile players plodding away in slow-growth segments -- virtually no semiconductor company was immune from the miserable conditions in the global semiconductor industry during the first quarter, according to iSuppli Corp.
Semiconductor Revenue Change by Company Headquarters Region/Country
Source: iSuppli Corp., June 2009
Worldwide semiconductor revenue in the first quarter declined to $44.3 billion, down 18.8 percent from $54.5 billion in the fourth quarter, and a decline of 33.8 percent from $66.8 billion in the first quarter of 2008. Revenue was down 36.2 percent from the start of the present sharp downturn in the third quarter of 2008.
Even prior to the downturn, the semiconductor industry experienced an extended period of lethargy. Quarterly semiconductor revenue peaked six quarters ago in the third quarter of 2007.
“Of the 130+ semiconductor suppliers tracked by iSuppli on a quarterly basis, only six managed to expand their revenue in the first quarter compared to the fourth quarter of 2008,” said Dale Ford, senior vice president, market intelligence, for iSuppli. “Even among these six suppliers, four increased their revenue by only 1 to 3 percent.”
Meanwhile, every major region of the world suffered double-digit percentage declines in semiconductor revenue in the first quarter compared to the fourth.
Semiconductor Suppliers with Positive Quarterly Revenue Growth
Source: iSuppli Corp., June 2009
“Although the first quarter is typically weak for the global semiconductor industry, the sharp declines in semiconductor during that period and in the fourth quarter of 2008 reflect the impact of the global economic downturn on the worldwide chip business,” Ford observed.
Regional variations
Despite the negative picture, some regions were not as badly impacted as others.
Companies headquartered in the Americas fared the best during the downturn, with a combined revenue decline in U.S. dollars of 30.8 percent since the third quarter of 2008.
European-headquartered companies suffered the worst decline, with their combined revenues falling by 44.5 percent during the same period. Japanese suppliers fared nearly as badly as their European counterparts, suffering a contraction of 43.5 percent.
However, the picture is very different if company revenues are maintained in the local currency and not converted to US. dollars. Changes in currency exchange rates have a notable impact on revenue growth when converted to a common dollar basis. European supplier revenues fell by only 36.1 percent since the third quarter of 2008 if their revenues are measured in euros.
On the other hand, Japanese company revenues fell by nearly 51 percent during the same time if their revenues are measured in yen.
Korean and Taiwanese suppliers saw steep revenue declines between the third and fourth quarters of 2008 followed by much more moderate declines between the fourth and first quarters. In contrast, Japanese companies suffered the biggest hit on revenues in the first quarter of 2009 when their combined revenues fell by nearly 31 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2008.
The bright side
On a positive note, iSuppli’s latest semiconductor forecast predicts that the first quarter of 2009 will represent the bottom of the semiconductor market decline and that revenues in the fourth quarter of 2009 will exceed those in the fourth quarter of 2008.
On a sequential basis, revenue will rise by 7.1 percent in the second quarter, by 10.4 percent in the third quarter and by 4.9 percent in the fourth quarter.
Looking back at the first quarter, there was one notable performance among all the suppliers—that of Taiwan’s MediaTek Inc. The company in the first quarter expanded its revenue by 10 percent on both a sequential and year-over-year basis.
The images present quarterly semiconductor revenue changes by region, semiconductor suppliers that managed positive quarterly revenue growth in the first quarter, and historical and forecast quarterly semiconductor revenues.
Worldwide Quarterly Semiconductor Revenues (Billions of Dollars)
Source: iSuppli Corp., June 2009
Semiconductor Revenue Change by Company Headquarters Region/Country
Source: iSuppli Corp., June 2009Worldwide semiconductor revenue in the first quarter declined to $44.3 billion, down 18.8 percent from $54.5 billion in the fourth quarter, and a decline of 33.8 percent from $66.8 billion in the first quarter of 2008. Revenue was down 36.2 percent from the start of the present sharp downturn in the third quarter of 2008.
Even prior to the downturn, the semiconductor industry experienced an extended period of lethargy. Quarterly semiconductor revenue peaked six quarters ago in the third quarter of 2007.
“Of the 130+ semiconductor suppliers tracked by iSuppli on a quarterly basis, only six managed to expand their revenue in the first quarter compared to the fourth quarter of 2008,” said Dale Ford, senior vice president, market intelligence, for iSuppli. “Even among these six suppliers, four increased their revenue by only 1 to 3 percent.”
Meanwhile, every major region of the world suffered double-digit percentage declines in semiconductor revenue in the first quarter compared to the fourth.
Semiconductor Suppliers with Positive Quarterly Revenue Growth
Source: iSuppli Corp., June 2009“Although the first quarter is typically weak for the global semiconductor industry, the sharp declines in semiconductor during that period and in the fourth quarter of 2008 reflect the impact of the global economic downturn on the worldwide chip business,” Ford observed.
Regional variations
Despite the negative picture, some regions were not as badly impacted as others.
Companies headquartered in the Americas fared the best during the downturn, with a combined revenue decline in U.S. dollars of 30.8 percent since the third quarter of 2008.
European-headquartered companies suffered the worst decline, with their combined revenues falling by 44.5 percent during the same period. Japanese suppliers fared nearly as badly as their European counterparts, suffering a contraction of 43.5 percent.
However, the picture is very different if company revenues are maintained in the local currency and not converted to US. dollars. Changes in currency exchange rates have a notable impact on revenue growth when converted to a common dollar basis. European supplier revenues fell by only 36.1 percent since the third quarter of 2008 if their revenues are measured in euros.
On the other hand, Japanese company revenues fell by nearly 51 percent during the same time if their revenues are measured in yen.
Korean and Taiwanese suppliers saw steep revenue declines between the third and fourth quarters of 2008 followed by much more moderate declines between the fourth and first quarters. In contrast, Japanese companies suffered the biggest hit on revenues in the first quarter of 2009 when their combined revenues fell by nearly 31 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2008.
The bright side
On a positive note, iSuppli’s latest semiconductor forecast predicts that the first quarter of 2009 will represent the bottom of the semiconductor market decline and that revenues in the fourth quarter of 2009 will exceed those in the fourth quarter of 2008.
On a sequential basis, revenue will rise by 7.1 percent in the second quarter, by 10.4 percent in the third quarter and by 4.9 percent in the fourth quarter.
Looking back at the first quarter, there was one notable performance among all the suppliers—that of Taiwan’s MediaTek Inc. The company in the first quarter expanded its revenue by 10 percent on both a sequential and year-over-year basis.
The images present quarterly semiconductor revenue changes by region, semiconductor suppliers that managed positive quarterly revenue growth in the first quarter, and historical and forecast quarterly semiconductor revenues.
Worldwide Quarterly Semiconductor Revenues (Billions of Dollars)
Source: iSuppli Corp., June 2009
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