Intel - - lower income Venture into plasma chemistry technology

Intel's net income for the first half of 1981 dropped 76 per cent compared to the same time last year. Dr G E Moore, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer blamed this on supply exceed- ing demand in the memory market- place. He said 'The memory com- ponents market continues to be affect- ed by overcapacity that has driven prices down at a rate much faster than normal.' The volume of sales was, however, at a record level. Intel plans to introduce more than 100 new prod- ucts in 1981 and Moore hopes that the effect of this will be shown in revenue over the next few years.

and bubble prices

Intel have reaffirmed the pledge it made a year ago for substantially lowering bubble memory prices. Single-quant- ity of the BPK72-2 prototype kit have been lowered more than 40 per cent to $995, with off-the-shelf availability. The volume price of Intel's BPK70 1 Mbyte bubble memory subsystem and 7220-1 controller is now $595 for 5000 unit orders. Fabricated using HMOS technology, the 7220-1 bubble memory controller is the first 1 Mbyte bubble memory controller on the market.

TR S-80 marketing

Tandy Corp. and TEC (Tokyo Electric Company) have reached a joint agree- ment whereby TEC will market Tandy's computer products in Japan. In accordance with the agreement, TEC will sell the -I'RS-80 computer series (this used to be done by Tandy's Radio Shack sales organization) in- cluding their Model I, II and III. The arrangement was initiated by the rapidly increasing demand for micro- processor-based products in Japan. In addition, TEC will second-source the TRS-80.

The National Research Development Corp. and Plasma-Therm Ltd are to establish a joint venture to develop new process control equipment for sale to European manufacturers of semi- conductor devices. The two year pro- gram was announced by the British Technology Group.

This high technology will be based on radiofrequency plasma chemistry techniques, which offer advantages over traditional wet chemical methods used in the fabrication of semiconduc- tors. Development studies by Plasma- Therm have indicated that more prec- ise control of the etching process than is currently available can be obtained by controlling the etching plasma using optical emission spectroscopy.

Radiofrequency plasma chemistry techniques are being increasingly employed in semiconductor manu- facture - one technical advantage

is the ability to create finer circuit patterns, a prerequisite of VLSI tech- nology. The process works because certain gases, when ionized, form a reactive plasma which interacts with solid surfaces to remove, selectively, unwanted material without residual contamination.

The venture is based on two main objectives. Firstly, a microprocessor- based monitoring system will be devel- oped to give manufacturers more prec- ise control in dry etching procedures based on radiofrequency plasmas. Secondly, a new power unit will be dev- eloped to complement Plasma-Therm's present range of radiofrequency gen- erators and so offer the ability to imp- rove the adhesive qualities of plasma deposited passivation layers which pro- tect microchip circuits. The total cost of the joint venture is estimatec at {170 000.

The London Micro Centre, claimed to be the first ever commercial micro- computer training centre, has opened in Lower Be/grave Street, London. I t aims to dispel the mystery surrounding computers and to enable business- men, managers and secretaries to become familiar with the new office tech- nology. Students are offered courses in word processing, computer operation and programming. Each course consists o f a series o f modules that are designed to allow the student to understand each new concept and master i t completely before going on to the next step. Blocks o f 20 hours are pur- chased at £10 per hour and then booked at times best suited to the individual student. The Managing Director o f the Executive Management Group o f companies, which runs the centre, said: "We hope to attract office workers on their way to and from work. We aim to appeal to secretaries who want to /earn word processing and managers who want to find out what a microcom- puter can do before they decide to invest in a microcomputer system ".

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