BUILDING ON THE PAST, READY FOR THE FUTURE: - MEMC
BUILDING ON THE PAST, READY FOR THE FUTURE: - MEMC BUILDING ON THE PAST, READY FOR THE FUTURE: - MEMC
36 Mortin Sentman slicing wafers. Polishing two-inch wafers. aPPlICatIon-sPeCIFIC waFers The introduction of the MultiStrate product line perhaps marked the beginning of the applicationspecific approach to increasing customer demands. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Monsanto was instrumental in SEMI’s efforts toward standardization of silicon wafer production. This was important, primarily because the more standardization Monsanto could incorporate into its manufacturing process, the easier and more cost effective it was to accommodate the customers’ requests for specific features as device manufacturers required increasing customization.
The highly competitive nature of the consumer electronics products industry created a cost consciousness that trickled down to the silicon wafer industry. The challenge for the wafer manufacturers was to accommodate the device manufacturers’ demands for increased customization while simultaneously maintaining their own cost competitiveness. Perhaps the key to MEMC’s survival and success was its good fortune at being birthed by a large company with the deep pockets required to stay on the cutting edge of a technology that everyone believed would someday pay off. When MEMC was featured in the September 1990 issue of the St. Charles County Business Network, the article read, “Since the early 1960s the giant silicon company has had to keep up with an extremely demanding and competitive market where [companies] who fail to keep up with advanced technology are out of the ballgame in short order.” Nearly twenty years later, MEMC’s vast technological experience and highly competitive business model has, in turn, made it extremely difficult for new competitors to enter the market. Additional sources: “The semiconductor silicon industry roadmap: Epochs drive by the dynamics between disruptive technologies and core competencies,” Steven T. walsh et al., Elsevier, Inc., 2003. www.semi.org http://openmap.bbn.com/~tomlinso/ray/firstemailframe. html MEMC’s plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, was built in 1979–80. A Second Generation of Technology 37
- Page 1: B u i l d i n g o n t h e p a s t ,
- Page 4 and 5: Copyright © 2009 by MEMC All right
- Page 6 and 7: 6 A C K N O w L E D G M E N T S The
- Page 8 and 9: 8 This is the story about a large c
- Page 10 and 11: 10 The first integrated circuit. Bo
- Page 12 and 13: 12 Float Zone reactors for polysili
- Page 14 and 15: 14 DiD yoU knoW? The Czochralski pr
- Page 16 and 17: 1959 August 6, J. L. Christian, vic
- Page 18 and 19: 18 in hiS oWn WorDS: Dr. roberT WAl
- Page 20 and 21: 20 Dr. Robert Sandfort, who was nam
- Page 22 and 23: 22 Distillation columns at the St.
- Page 24 and 25: 24 business got off to a slow start
- Page 26 and 27: 26 C H A P T E R T H R E E A Second
- Page 28 and 29: 28 1970 The SEMI organization is fo
- Page 30 and 31: 30 wafer lapping, 1975. The Milton
- Page 32 and 33: 32 Zone refiner. 1 st Left to right
- Page 34 and 35: 34 SPArTAnbUrg leArning DiSCovery I
- Page 38 and 39: 38 In 1980, with the basic technolo
- Page 40 and 41: 40 1979 Sony introduces the walkman
- Page 42 and 43: 42 1986 MEMC builds the Utsunomiya,
- Page 44 and 45: 44 Ralph Hartung, vice president, U
- Page 46 and 47: 46 in the past several years, polys
- Page 48 and 49: 48 Above: Epi reactor. Left: Epitax
- Page 50 and 51: 50 Within a year of its merger with
- Page 52 and 53: 1990 Tim Berners-Lee creates the wo
- Page 54 and 55: 54 300mm double-sided polishing.
- Page 56 and 57: 56 MEMC Southwest Groundbreaking Ce
- Page 58 and 59: 58 M E M C A D V E R T I S E M E N
- Page 60 and 61: 60 Dr. roberT fAlSTer: in hiS oWn W
- Page 62 and 63: 62 A 300mm ingot is loaded onto a c
- Page 64 and 65: 64 DiD yoU knoW? In October of 1995
- Page 66 and 67: 66 2002 worldwide semiconductor mat
- Page 68 and 69: 68 Hörde moved from COO to CEO in
- Page 70 and 71: 70 70 MeMC goeS inTo oUTer SPACe! I
- Page 72 and 73: 72 Lifestyles have changed dramatic
- Page 74 and 75: May 2000 MEMC receives the C. Sheld
- Page 76 and 77: 76 The people of MKC celebrate thei
- Page 78 and 79: 78 2009 website www.memc.com percen
- Page 80: 80 Ahmad Chatila, MEMC President an
The highly competitive nature of the consumer<br />
electronics products industry created a cost<br />
consciousness that trickled down to the silicon<br />
wafer industry. The challenge for the wafer<br />
manufacturers was to accommodate the<br />
device manufacturers’ demands for increased<br />
customization while simultaneously maintaining<br />
their own cost competitiveness. Perhaps the key<br />
to <strong>MEMC</strong>’s survival and success was its good<br />
fortune at being birthed by a large company with<br />
the deep pockets required to stay on the cutting<br />
edge of a technology that everyone believed would<br />
someday pay off. When <strong>MEMC</strong> was featured<br />
in the September 1990 issue of the St. Charles<br />
County Business Network, the article read, “Since<br />
the early 1960s the giant silicon company has had<br />
to keep up with an extremely demanding and<br />
competitive market where [companies] who fail to<br />
keep up with advanced technology are out of the<br />
ballgame in short order.” Nearly twenty years later,<br />
<strong>MEMC</strong>’s vast technological experience and highly<br />
competitive business model has, in turn, made it<br />
extremely difficult for new competitors to enter the<br />
market.<br />
Additional sources:<br />
“The semiconductor silicon industry roadmap: Epochs drive<br />
by the dynamics between disruptive technologies and core<br />
competencies,” Steven T. walsh et al., Elsevier, Inc., 2003.<br />
www.semi.org<br />
http://openmap.bbn.com/~tomlinso/ray/firstemailframe.<br />
html<br />
<strong>MEMC</strong>’s plant in Spartanburg,<br />
South Carolina, was built in 1979–80.<br />
A Second Generation of Technology 37
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