DuPont Photomasks to Upgrade Shanghai Facility

ROUND ROCK, Texas, Feb. 7 -- DuPont Photomasks Inc. plans to significantly upgrade the capability of DuPont Photomasks Co. Ltd., its joint-venture photomask manufacturing facility in Shanghai, China. The facility, located at the CaoHeJing Hi-Tech Park, is being upgraded to better serve the growing semiconductor market in China.

DuPont Photomasks said the move will make it the first merchant photomask producer in China to install an advanced manufacturing line capable of producing photomasks supporting semiconductor design rules of 180 nm. The line will be anchored by an Etec Systems (an Applied Materials company) Alta 3700 laser pattern generator. Improvements to the facility and the export licensing process will begin during this quarter, and additional expansion plans are under development.