Service tracks material use A new service tracks the use of consumables to help chipmakers better manage their inventories. Introduced by Semico Research, the FAB Consumables Tracker provides two-year rolling quarterly forecasts and two years of quarterly historical data for materials such as photoresists, photomasks, and chemicals. In addition to helping chipmakers with their inventories, the service enables suppliers and equipment manufacturers to make better marketing decisions, according to the research firm. Other materials covered include CMP pads, post-CMP cleaning brushes, and diffusion materials. Headquartered in Phoenix, Semico provides semiconductor market research and analysis.
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Global standards updated New, updated, and reapproved documents covering a wide variety of semiconductor manufacturing equipment and facility categories are among the 1999 cycle of SEMI International Standards. In addition, there are four editorially revised and five withdrawn documents. Among the new benchmarks are one defining equipment productivity and another establishing a test method for determining attitude sensitivity of mass-flow controllers. A technology created to minimize process variability and reduce manufacturing costs is the focus of a recently published book. The concept is designed to cut production costs by minimizing process drift.