G 94-15

Contact:  Anne Enright Shepherd    COMMERCE ACTS ON INDUSTRY'S
          (301) 975-4858           CALL FOR SEMICONDUCTOR
                                   MEASUREMENT ASSISTANCE
          Carol Hamilton
          (202) 482-3263

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                 3/2/94

     U.S. Commerce Secretary Ronald H. Brown today announced that
the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) is entering into an historic partnership to
support the U.S. semiconductor industry with the establishment of
the "National Semiconductor Metrology Program."

     Characterized by the Secretary as building on the
Administration's strong support for industry/government R&D
partnerships that help create jobs and economic growth, the
proposed $25 million program was developed in conjunction with
the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).  The program was
called for by the SIA to help meet its national semiconductor
technology roadmap, which charts the industry's technical course
through 2007 to maintain U.S. semiconductor industry global
competitiveness.

     In a press conference this morning with semiconductor
industry leaders and other Administration officials, Secretary
Brown also called for swift Senate passage of S. 4, the National
Competitiveness Act, to enable Commerce to continue to support
programs such as this.  S. 4 authorizes the Commerce Department's
technology and manufacturing programs, which are merit-based,
cost-shared, and driven by the needs of U.S. industry.

     "Commerce's technology and manufacturing programs build on a
tradition of industry/government partnerships that have helped
U.S. businesses take the lead in fields such as pharmaceuticals
and agriculture," Secretary Brown said.  "Our spending on
technology and manufacturing is a leveraged investment with a
high rate of return:  by helping industry to create jobs and
compete successfully in the global marketplace, we will grow the
economy," he said.

     Semiconductors are the building blocks of products and
services in many segments of the U.S. economy, including
navigation and air traffic control, patient diagnostics and
monitoring, and electronic funds transfer.  Semiconductor
development trends are racing toward smaller dimensions in
integrated circuits, lower concentration levels of contaminants,
higher speeds, greater circuit complexity and escalating costs.
Fast-paced development requires dramatic, challenging measurement
tools to keep advanced microelectronic manufacturing competitive. 
Commerce's National Semiconductor Metrology Program will help
U.S. industry meet these challenges.

     Noting NIST's traditional role in semiconductor measurement
science and technology, or metrology, the SIA roadmap recommended
that NIST fulfill the need for leadership in this area by
performing additional measurement R&D, coordinating semiconductor
metrology work at NIST with that of other government agencies,
and serving as an initial point of contact for inquiries on
semiconductor metrology topics.  Funding of $4.8 million for the
program is already in place.  The President's fiscal year 1995
budget request contains $5.2 million to support this NIST
program.  Congressional action on the budget request is necessary
before funding levels can be finalized.  NIST is committed to
mounting a $25 million program by fiscal year 1997.

     Although technical plans are still being formulated, areas
slated for inclusion correspond to SIA technical working groups
that are now updating the roadmap.  Accurate metrology is vital
to each of the following areas.

>    Lithography, the process of making patterns on silicon
     wafers, requires enhanced measurements of feature size and
     placement, resist film deposition and removal processes, and
     exposure tools.

>    Interconnect, the electrical connections between active
     devices on a silicon chip, needs improved understanding of
     methods of assessing electromigration, plasma etching
     processes and metal deposition.

>    Bulk materials and processes, including starting silicon
     material, deposited polycrystalline layers, thermal
     processing, and diffusion or implantation within the
     silicon, rely in part on measurements using enhanced
     sensitivity and resolution.

>    Factory systems and facilities require sophisticated
     metrology and modeling for computer-integrated
     manufacturing, contamination-free manufacturing and
     equipment design.

>    Packaging a chip for use in an electronic system is evolving
     to incorporate many more electrical connections with higher
     power dissipation and frequency of operation.

>    Design and testing of microcircuits benefit from development
     of test methodologies, including electrical instrument
     calibration services and advanced testing strategies.

>    Device structures depend on metrology for an accurate
     physical understanding of device behavior when scaled to
     smaller dimensions.

     Industry's input will guide NIST as it refines the technical
program plan.  NIST will take maximum advantage of capabilities
at other organizations.  The institute already has an agreement
to coordinate its work in semiconductor metrology with the
Department of Energy's Sandia National Laboratories work in
semiconductor technology.

     NIST has a long history of working with the semiconductor
industry.  It developed its first semiconductor projects more
than 30 years ago and continues that close cooperation today
through a variety of research and services.

     As a non-regulatory agency of the Commerce Department's
Technology Administration, NIST promotes U.S. economic growth by
working with industry to develop and apply technology,
measurements and standards.

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