Sematech Adds Four Non-US Companies; Becomes International Sematech

Sematech (Austin, TX), a non-profit R&D consortium of semiconductor manufacturing companies, has expanded its membership to include the four members of the former International Sematech subsidiary. The full consortium will now be known as International Sematech.

Sematech was formed in the 1980s to help US chipmakers compete against foreign companies, particularly Asian semiconductor companies. Now, Asian companies Hyundai Electronics Industries (Inchon, South Korea) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (Hsinchu, Taiwan) have become part of the consortium. The two other companies joining under the new integrated structure are Infineon Technologies (Munich, Germany) and Philips Semiconductors (Amsterdam, The Netherlands).

The companies will begin working in the Interconnect Division this year, and the remainder of the Sematech technical programs, including Front End Processes and Advanced Technology, in 2000. The four companies have been involved in International Sematech programs since April 1998, including the transition to 300-mm wafers; lithography; environment, safety, and health; and standards.

In addition to the new members, the full consortium includes Advanced Micro Devices (Sunnyvale, CA), Compaq (Houston), Conexant (Newport Beach, CA), Hewlett-Packard (Palo Alto, CA), Intel (Santa Clara, CA), IBM (Armonk, NY), Lucent Technologies (Murray Hill, NJ), Motorola (Schaumburg, IL), STMicroelectronics (Saint Genis Pouilly, France), and Texas Instruments (Dallas).

For more information, call Sematech at 512 356-3118.