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CMP consumables may not be glamourous, but Applied doesn't care |
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Dec 06, 2006 at 09:00 AM |
I chuckled a bit when I saw the news this week about the DuraPad CMP pad line offering by Applied Materials.
Consumables may not be the most glamourous part of the semi equipment business---and dealing with them is definitely not the favorite part of a fab manager's job---but without them the chipmaker's tools would go down and the vendors' cashflow would take a hit. The branding also made me smile: how better to name a product that promises to last longer and be more, well, durable than by sticking on a "Dura" prefix?
I also liked the fact that the new pads are meant for 200-mm apps, the substrate size that often plays wallflower to its more voluptuous 300-mm cousin. Another part of the story that appeals is the role of Praxair Electronics---itself a key player in the materials, consumables, and subsystems markets---in the development of the pads with a proprietary inert-gas foaming process. As I've said before, partnerships between equipment suppliers and materials houses should be applauded, especially when/if the customers (and maybe even the industry as a whole) see a benefit.
CMP pads are a new area for Team Splinter and provide more evidence of the growing importance of its Applied Global Services unit.
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