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Introductory
I
n our next issue we shall begin featuring the EURO III-Vs REVIEW DEPOSITION, ETCHING & IMPLANTATION EQUIPMENT VENDORS DIRECTORY 1990 - if y o u wish for your c o m p a n y to be featured please fax t h e Editor for a c o p y of the Survey Questionnaire.
YEARBOOK As regular readers will be aware, we started featuring Vendor Directories in early 1989 with a look at the Analytical Service C o m p a n i e s a n d have since covered source materials, substrates a n d epiwafers. It is our i n t e n t i o n t h a t all of those covered so far, a n d some new ones, be collected in an u p d a t e d form in our Yearbook w h i c h will be available as a regular issue in December. In due course we shall a n n o u n c e further details of this a n d o t h e r aspects of t h e i n d u s t r y we shall be covering in t h e Yearbook. EPITAXIAL EQUIPMENT It m a y be a g o o d indicator of the state of t h e compound semiconductor i n d u s t r y t h a t a n y directory of suppliers we publish very quickly becomes obsolete or incomplete. We have tried to be as definitive as possible b u t on nearly every occasion t h e i n d u s t r y has re-shuffled itself a n d we have to publish a m e n d m e n t s . In t h e supply of e q u i p m e n t , things have been r e m a r k a b l y static w i t h the i n d u s t r y split ! ,etween large v e n d o r s of very expensive systems a n d smaller v e n d o r s of c u s t o m systems a n d add-ons. There are relatively few suppliers of the very high capital cost e q u i p m e n t , MBE in particular, b u t there are quite a n u m b e r of MOVPE a n d c u s t o m epitaxial e q u i p m e n t vendors. This reflects t h e present e v o l u t i o n a r y state of the epitaxy materials industry; there is still m u c h n e e d for R&D e q u i p m e n t (in all aspects of MOVPE a n d MBE plus all the variations in-
V e n d o r Directories 1990 In the following pages we present our latest surveys of vendors in the III-Vs industry. Of particular relevance to the ICMOVPE V and optoelectronics flavour of this issue we feature the 1990 Epitaxial Equipment Vendor Directory plus the conclusion of the Epitaxial Wafer Directory. between) b u t there is also a real a n d h e a l t h i l y growing m a r k e t for p r o d u c t i o n systems (MOVPE a n d MBE mainly). The precursor materials are available in the requisite purity, q u a n t i t y (if n o t price!) a n d m u c h of the basic t e c h n o l o g y of growth has been worked out a n d so a fair n u m b e r of c o m p a n i e s (merc h a n t epitaxy vendors in particular) are l o o k i n g to fabricate p r o d u c t i o n quantities of quite c o m p l e x structures.
SCRUBBING EQUIPMENT This i n d u s t r y is further characterised b y t h e increasing availability of associated scrubbing e q u i p m e n t w i t h w h i c h to treat the exhaust gases. Ever-tightening safety a n d e n v i r o n m e n t a l regulations are m a k i n g this an increasingly i m p o r t a n t sector a n d as we shall see in a future issue m a n y c o m p a nies are n o w offering these a d d - o n systems. The c u s t o m e r can also fit t h e scrubber u n i t supplied by his reactor vend o r a n d this has advantages logistics, back-up, c o m m o n ality etc - b u t s o m e t i m e s t h e specialised n a t u r e of the epitaxy required d e m a n d s a scrubbing solution from a specialist supplier. MERCHANT EPITAXY Of particular note, the Epitronics e n t r y (and s o m e others) in our Epiwafer Vendor Directory h a d to be deferred to this issue a n d in the m e a n t i m e we received news of t h e c o m p a n y ' s c h a n g e of ownership. As you will read in the News section, Epitronics is n o w part
of t h e C h e m e t a l l organisation w h i c h owns Bertram Labs a n d ATFC. Over the last year we have seen t h e formation of several o t h e r changes in strategic alliances: M o r g a n left Ethyl to b e c o m e part of TI, MCP purchased Wafer Technology from ICI, Nerco relinquished Spectrum Technology b u t Semitronic (see this issue) has picked u p m u c h of the assets. The longer term effect of these changes can be viewed in a negative or positive fashion d e p e n d i n g o n y o u r perspective. Obviously if y o u ' v e lost y o u r job as a result y o u m a y be a bit biased b u t even t h e n t h e i n d u s t r y always has r o o m for g o o d people (and some n o t so good!) so m o s t t u r n up elsewhere pretty soon after. The c h a n g e we see is the loss of interest from large corporations w h i c h picked up these c o m p a n i e s a r o u n d five or so years ago to diversify into a d v a n c e d t e c h n o l o g y for niche markets. Sadly, few failed to s p e n d the t i m e to understand what they had b o u g h t a n d finally their patience ran o u t with this difficult industry. N o w we see those C o r p o r a t i o n s h a n d i n g the III-V c o m p a n i e s over to o t h e r C o r p o r a t i o n s with a better u n d e r s t a n d i n g of the industry. The latter usually already have o n e part of t h e III-V c o m p a n y portfolio a n d are seeking to a u g m e n t this with synergistic p a r t n e r companies. The recent Epitronics m o v e is a g o o d e x a m p l e of this. C h e m e t a l l h a s a strong base in bare wafers with its o w n e r s h i p of Bertram Labs a n d ATFC b u t
saw t h e need for a n o t h e r level of i n t e g r a t i o n so a d d e d the n e x t step in t h e process c h a i n - an e p i t a x y company.
EUROPEAN ACQUISITIONS A n o t h e r startling t h i n g is t h a t so m a n y of these reshuffles involve the acquisition of N o r t h A m e r i c a n - o w n e d c o m p a n i e s b y European companies: C o m i n c o is part of J o h n s o n M a t t h e y (UK), Crystal Specialties is part of Akzo (Holland), m u c h of Spectrum Technology has gone to O u t o k u m p u Semitronic (Finland) a n d as we reported last m o n t h Enimont, an Italian company, i n t e n d s to m a r k e t GaAs wafers from its n e w US operation. As has h a p p e n e d in silicon wafer supply, s o o n t h e US will h a v e few i n d i g e n o u s c o m p a n i e s to c h o o s e from: M / A - C o m or L i t t o n A i r t r o n are b a s i c a l l y it for SI LEC GaAs. It w o u l d seem t h a t t h e c o n t e s t for w o r l d d o m i n a t i o n will s o o n be a t w o h o r s e race: c u s t o m e r s will h a v e a s i m p l e c h o i c e b u y E u r o p e a n or Japanese! Virtually all Far Eastern s u b s t r a t e s u p p l y c o m p a n i e s are p a r t of large vertically-integrated C o r p o r a t i o n s a n d are t h e r e fore i m m u n e to sell-offs or a c q u i s i t i o n s . It is i n t e r e s t i n g t h a t o t h e r Pacific Rim c o m p a n i e s h a v e n o t successfully a c q u i r e d US a n d E u r o p e a n III-V s u b s t r a t e c o m p a n i e s . It is k n o w n t h a t several were i n t e r e s t e d in Wafer Tech b u t p e r h a p s t h e e l i m i n a t i o n b y acquisit i o n m e t h o d is n o t p a r t of t h e strategy of c o m p a n i e s a l r e a d y in s u b s t r a t e supply. Finally, we c a n be sure t h a t t h e r e is still n o t y e t e n o u g h wafer b u s i n e s s o u t t h e r e to feed all t h e substrate companies. There are few m a j o r c o n t r a c t s like t h e r e c e n t WackerVitesse o r d e r - in t h e offing. O n c e t h e m a j o r fabs are signed up with their primary, s e c o n d a r y ( a n d tertiary?) v e n d o r s , t h e p r o h i b i t i v e cost of qualifying excludes newcomers. We shall t h u s be witness to f u r t h e r spectacle as the i n d u s t r y evolves.
n our next issue we shall begin featuring the EURO III-Vs REVIEW DEPOSITION, ETCHING & IMPLANTATION EQUIPMENT VENDORS DIRECTORY 1990 - if y o u wish for your c o m p a n y to be featured please fax t h e Editor for a c o p y of the Survey Questionnaire.
YEARBOOK As regular readers will be aware, we started featuring Vendor Directories in early 1989 with a look at the Analytical Service C o m p a n i e s a n d have since covered source materials, substrates a n d epiwafers. It is our i n t e n t i o n t h a t all of those covered so far, a n d some new ones, be collected in an u p d a t e d form in our Yearbook w h i c h will be available as a regular issue in December. In due course we shall a n n o u n c e further details of this a n d o t h e r aspects of t h e i n d u s t r y we shall be covering in t h e Yearbook. EPITAXIAL EQUIPMENT It m a y be a g o o d indicator of the state of t h e compound semiconductor i n d u s t r y t h a t a n y directory of suppliers we publish very quickly becomes obsolete or incomplete. We have tried to be as definitive as possible b u t on nearly every occasion t h e i n d u s t r y has re-shuffled itself a n d we have to publish a m e n d m e n t s . In t h e supply of e q u i p m e n t , things have been r e m a r k a b l y static w i t h the i n d u s t r y split ! ,etween large v e n d o r s of very expensive systems a n d smaller v e n d o r s of c u s t o m systems a n d add-ons. There are relatively few suppliers of the very high capital cost e q u i p m e n t , MBE in particular, b u t there are quite a n u m b e r of MOVPE a n d c u s t o m epitaxial e q u i p m e n t vendors. This reflects t h e present e v o l u t i o n a r y state of the epitaxy materials industry; there is still m u c h n e e d for R&D e q u i p m e n t (in all aspects of MOVPE a n d MBE plus all the variations in-
V e n d o r Directories 1990 In the following pages we present our latest surveys of vendors in the III-Vs industry. Of particular relevance to the ICMOVPE V and optoelectronics flavour of this issue we feature the 1990 Epitaxial Equipment Vendor Directory plus the conclusion of the Epitaxial Wafer Directory. between) b u t there is also a real a n d h e a l t h i l y growing m a r k e t for p r o d u c t i o n systems (MOVPE a n d MBE mainly). The precursor materials are available in the requisite purity, q u a n t i t y (if n o t price!) a n d m u c h of the basic t e c h n o l o g y of growth has been worked out a n d so a fair n u m b e r of c o m p a n i e s (merc h a n t epitaxy vendors in particular) are l o o k i n g to fabricate p r o d u c t i o n quantities of quite c o m p l e x structures.
SCRUBBING EQUIPMENT This i n d u s t r y is further characterised b y t h e increasing availability of associated scrubbing e q u i p m e n t w i t h w h i c h to treat the exhaust gases. Ever-tightening safety a n d e n v i r o n m e n t a l regulations are m a k i n g this an increasingly i m p o r t a n t sector a n d as we shall see in a future issue m a n y c o m p a nies are n o w offering these a d d - o n systems. The c u s t o m e r can also fit t h e scrubber u n i t supplied by his reactor vend o r a n d this has advantages logistics, back-up, c o m m o n ality etc - b u t s o m e t i m e s t h e specialised n a t u r e of the epitaxy required d e m a n d s a scrubbing solution from a specialist supplier. MERCHANT EPITAXY Of particular note, the Epitronics e n t r y (and s o m e others) in our Epiwafer Vendor Directory h a d to be deferred to this issue a n d in the m e a n t i m e we received news of t h e c o m p a n y ' s c h a n g e of ownership. As you will read in the News section, Epitronics is n o w part
of t h e C h e m e t a l l organisation w h i c h owns Bertram Labs a n d ATFC. Over the last year we have seen t h e formation of several o t h e r changes in strategic alliances: M o r g a n left Ethyl to b e c o m e part of TI, MCP purchased Wafer Technology from ICI, Nerco relinquished Spectrum Technology b u t Semitronic (see this issue) has picked u p m u c h of the assets. The longer term effect of these changes can be viewed in a negative or positive fashion d e p e n d i n g o n y o u r perspective. Obviously if y o u ' v e lost y o u r job as a result y o u m a y be a bit biased b u t even t h e n t h e i n d u s t r y always has r o o m for g o o d people (and some n o t so good!) so m o s t t u r n up elsewhere pretty soon after. The c h a n g e we see is the loss of interest from large corporations w h i c h picked up these c o m p a n i e s a r o u n d five or so years ago to diversify into a d v a n c e d t e c h n o l o g y for niche markets. Sadly, few failed to s p e n d the t i m e to understand what they had b o u g h t a n d finally their patience ran o u t with this difficult industry. N o w we see those C o r p o r a t i o n s h a n d i n g the III-V c o m p a n i e s over to o t h e r C o r p o r a t i o n s with a better u n d e r s t a n d i n g of the industry. The latter usually already have o n e part of t h e III-V c o m p a n y portfolio a n d are seeking to a u g m e n t this with synergistic p a r t n e r companies. The recent Epitronics m o v e is a g o o d e x a m p l e of this. C h e m e t a l l h a s a strong base in bare wafers with its o w n e r s h i p of Bertram Labs a n d ATFC b u t
saw t h e need for a n o t h e r level of i n t e g r a t i o n so a d d e d the n e x t step in t h e process c h a i n - an e p i t a x y company.
EUROPEAN ACQUISITIONS A n o t h e r startling t h i n g is t h a t so m a n y of these reshuffles involve the acquisition of N o r t h A m e r i c a n - o w n e d c o m p a n i e s b y European companies: C o m i n c o is part of J o h n s o n M a t t h e y (UK), Crystal Specialties is part of Akzo (Holland), m u c h of Spectrum Technology has gone to O u t o k u m p u Semitronic (Finland) a n d as we reported last m o n t h Enimont, an Italian company, i n t e n d s to m a r k e t GaAs wafers from its n e w US operation. As has h a p p e n e d in silicon wafer supply, s o o n t h e US will h a v e few i n d i g e n o u s c o m p a n i e s to c h o o s e from: M / A - C o m or L i t t o n A i r t r o n are b a s i c a l l y it for SI LEC GaAs. It w o u l d seem t h a t t h e c o n t e s t for w o r l d d o m i n a t i o n will s o o n be a t w o h o r s e race: c u s t o m e r s will h a v e a s i m p l e c h o i c e b u y E u r o p e a n or Japanese! Virtually all Far Eastern s u b s t r a t e s u p p l y c o m p a n i e s are p a r t of large vertically-integrated C o r p o r a t i o n s a n d are t h e r e fore i m m u n e to sell-offs or a c q u i s i t i o n s . It is i n t e r e s t i n g t h a t o t h e r Pacific Rim c o m p a n i e s h a v e n o t successfully a c q u i r e d US a n d E u r o p e a n III-V s u b s t r a t e c o m p a n i e s . It is k n o w n t h a t several were i n t e r e s t e d in Wafer Tech b u t p e r h a p s t h e e l i m i n a t i o n b y acquisit i o n m e t h o d is n o t p a r t of t h e strategy of c o m p a n i e s a l r e a d y in s u b s t r a t e supply. Finally, we c a n be sure t h a t t h e r e is still n o t y e t e n o u g h wafer b u s i n e s s o u t t h e r e to feed all t h e substrate companies. There are few m a j o r c o n t r a c t s like t h e r e c e n t WackerVitesse o r d e r - in t h e offing. O n c e t h e m a j o r fabs are signed up with their primary, s e c o n d a r y ( a n d tertiary?) v e n d o r s , t h e p r o h i b i t i v e cost of qualifying excludes newcomers. We shall t h u s be witness to f u r t h e r spectacle as the i n d u s t r y evolves.