Hitachi, Ltd.(NYSE:HIT) and Hitachi Tokyo Electronics Co.,
Ltd. today announced that on October 20, 1998, Ibaraki Semicon
Material Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hitachi
Tokyo Electronics, will freeze production of epitaxial
wafers.*
To provide the Hitachi Group with a stable supply of wafers,
Hitachi Tokyo Electronics produces mirror wafers and other
silicon wafers and Ibaraki Semicon Material was established
in May 1996 to process mirror wafers into epitaxial wafers
for use in semiconductor MOS-based devices.
However, amid the prolonged slump in the semiconductor
market, growth in demand for wafers has not been up to
initial expectations. As part of the restructuring of
Hitachi's semiconductor operations, production of
epitaxial wafers at Ibaraki Semicon Material will be
halted.
The approximately 150 employees of Ibaraki Semicon Material,
where production is to be frozen, will be reassigned back
to their original departments or moved to Hitachi Tokyo
Electronics.
*Note: Epitaxial wafers:
Wafers formed by vapor-phase growth of a layer or layers
of silicon single-crystal on a mirror wafer substrate.
The result is high-purity, defect-free layers, and these
wafers are therefore being increasingly applied
to high-density LSIs, where they are expected to
raise productivity.
Outline of Companies
Name: |
Hitachi Tokyo Electronics Co., Ltd. |
Location: |
3-3-2, Fujihashi, Ome-shi, Tokyo |
Establishment: |
May 21, 1963 |
Employees: |
Approximately 1,900 |
Capital: |
600 million yen (100% owned by Hitachi, Ltd.) |
Business: |
Manufacture of semiconductor devices, semiconductor equipment, silicon wafers |
President: |
Yoshihito Shirai |
Name: |
Ibaraki Semicon Material Co., Ltd. |
Location: |
762, Nakahara Horiguchi, Hitachinaka-shi, Ibaraki Prefecture |
Establishment: |
May 2, 1996 |
Employees: |
Approximately 150 |
Capital: |
50 million yen (100% owned by Hitachi Tokyo Electronics) |
Business: |
Manufacture and sales of epitaxial wafers |
President: |
Hiroyuki Katano |
About Hitachi
Hitachi, Ltd., headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is one of
the world's leading global electronics companies,
with fiscal 1997 (ended March 31, 1998) consolidated sales
of 8,417 billion yen (63.8 billion dollars*).
The company manufactures and markets a wide range
of products, including computers, semiconductors,
consumer products and power and industrial equipment.
For more information on Hitachi, Ltd., please visit
Hitachi's Web site at http://www.hitachi.co.jp.
*At an exchange rate of 132 yen to the dollar.
WRITTEN BY Secretary's Office
All Rights Reserved,
Copyright (C)
1998, Hitachi, Ltd.