21st Century Semiconductor Manufacturing Capabilities

Semiconductor device manufacturers face many difficult challenges as we enter the 21st century. Some are direct consequences of adherence to Gordon Moore's Law, which states that device complexity doubles about every 18 months. Feature size reduction, increased wafer diameter, increased chip size, ultra-clean processing, and defect reduction among others are manifestations that have a direct bearing on the cost and quality of products, factory flexibility in responding to changing technology or business conditions, and on the timelines of product delivery to the ultimate customer....