November 5, 1999 Web posted at: 9:14 a.m. EST (1414 GMT) by Terho Uimonen

From...

(IDG) -- Semiconductor 300, a joint venture between Motorola and Infineon Technologies, has produced its first functional 256M-bit density memory chips made on next-generation 300-millimeter (12-inch) wafers, the companies announced Thursday.

Making chips on 300-millimeter wafers allows for up to 2.5 times more chips per wafer than today's 200-millimeter technology. As a result, production costs on next-generation 256M-bit and 1G-bit DRAMs may be reduced by up to 30 percent, according to information posted on Semiconductor 300's Web site at www.sc300.de (link below).

The high-density DRAM (dynamic random access memory) chips were manufactured using process technology based on geometries finer than 0.2 micron, demonstrating the 300-millimeter wafer equipment capabilities at the Dresden, Germany-based facility, the companies said in a statement.

In October, Motorola and Infineon, the former semiconductor subsidiary of Siemens AG, announced that Semiconductor 300 had started shipping to customers its first 64M-bit DRAMs manufactured on 300-millimeter wafers.

A joint venture between Motorola and Infineon, the semiconductor subsidiary of Siemens AG, Semiconductor 300 is the result of a 1 billion mark (US$537 million) research and development initiative. The project involves 18 other partner companies and is also supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Technology and the State of Saxony, the statement said.