Consortium formed for semiconductor wafer fabrication challenges

Ten global companies formed the Facility 450 Consortium (F450C) and five companies formed the Global 450 Consortium (G450C) with the intention of addressing facility and infrastructure challenges of 450mm semiconductor wafer fabrication issues.

By The Global 450mm Consortium (G450C) July 9, 2013

A group of 10 global companies announced the formation of the Facility 450 Consortium (F450C) to address the complex facility and infrastructure challenges of 450mm semiconductor wafer fabrication.

Centered at the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) in Albany, N.Y., the F450C is a subgroup of the Global 450 Consortium (G450C), which was formed to ensure a smooth and coordinated transition to 450mm wafers.

“The shift to 450mm will be extremely complex and will affect every aspect of the industry and all levels of the supply chain,” said Arthur F. Anton, president and chief executive officer of Swagelok Company. “We have a responsibility to our customers to do everything we can to ease this transition and, at the same time, take full advantage of this opportunity to introduce sustainable practices and quality standards that will yield long-term benefits to the industry.”

While the G450C provides leadership on challenges related to tools, equipment, and processes, the F450C will focus on facility and infrastructure issues, including the design of facilities, wafer handling, tool connection, chemical distribution, and water and electrical systems.

In tandem, the G450C and F450C will work to hold down operational costs, improve tool and equipment uptime, and otherwise provide long-term benefits as the industry builds high-volume 450mm facilities.

The companies making up the F450C are Air Liquide, CH2M HILL, CS Clean Systems, Ceres Technologies, Edwards, Haws Corporation, Mega Fluid Systems, M+W Group, Ovivo, and Swagelok.

The G450C is made up of five member companies – Intel, TSMC, GlobalFoundries, IBM, and Samsung – as well as New York State partnering with CNSE.

The Global 450mm Consortium (G450C)

www.g450c.org 

– Edited by Control EngineeringPlant Engineering, CFE media. See other machine control developments.