Editorial S
E
C
T
I
O
N
S
Yield Management
the
S O L U T I O N S
Responsibilities OF Leadership As companies grow and emerge from among their competitors as industry leaders, they must assume new responsibilities in addition to those associated with continued financial success and customer satisfaction. Whether they want to or not, by assuming the rank of “industry leader,” these companies bear an inherent responsibility to truly be leaders. They have an obligation to learn and understand where the new frontiers will be and to drive the advances in technologies or processes needed to meet future demands. Their visions further not just their own companies, but the industry as a whole.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Roberta Emerson MANAGING EDITOR Judy Dale CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Kern Beare Kavitha Kannan Holly Nielsen Viet Pham A S S O C I AT E E D I T O R Kevin Clover E D I T O R I A L A S S I S TA N T S Rolando Gonzales Carol Johnson Marie Sholar ART DIRECTOR AND PRODUCTION MANAGER Shirley Short D E S I G N C O N S U LTA N T Carlos Hueso C I R C U L AT I O N Cathy Correia
Throughout the history of the semiconductor and equipment industries, the mantle of leadership has been worn by some impressive companies. Unfortunately, those who are leaders in one time can quickly become followers in another. Those companies best positioned to understand the roadmaps of the future, and their implications for today, are also those best positioned to maintain customer satisfaction and a solid revenue stream over the long term. The dynamic nature of the semiconductor equipment industry makes living up to the leadership role a multifaceted challenge. Not only must the leaders understand and develop solutions for new materials and new methods, such as copper interconnect, low k dielectrics, and new photomask designs, they must also continue to overcome existing challenges in areas such as chemical mechanical planarization, automatic defect classification and yield ramp acceleration. Within this environment of rapid change, where linewidths decrease faster with each new generation of devices, leaders must combine the flexibility and agility of a start up organization with the critical mass of a wellestablished corporation. Emerging as a leader through revenue growth is indeed a credible achievement. Maintaining that leadership by recognizing and developing solutions to the coming challenges, by driving advances in current technologies, and by satisfying the needs of customers, both now and in the future, is the true test of a leading company in this or any industry.
KLA-Tencor Worldwide C O R P O R AT E H E A D Q U A R T E R S
KLA-Tencor Corporation 160 Rio Robles San Jose, California 95134 408.875.4200 I N T E R N AT I O N A L O F F I C E S
KLA-Tencor France SARL Evry Cedex, France 011 33 16 936 6969 KLA-Tencor GmbH Munich, Germany 011 49 89 8902 170 KLA-Tencor (Israel) Corporation Migdal Ha’Emek, Israel 011 972 6 6449449 KLA-Tencor Japan Ltd. Yokohama, Japan 011 81 45 335 8200 KLA-Tencor Korea Inc. Seoul, Korea 011 822 41 50552 KLA-Tencor (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. Johor Bahru, Malaysia 011 607 557 1946 KLA-Tencor (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. Singapore 011 65 780 1088
Roberta Emerson Vice President, Corporate Communications
4
Spring 1999
Yield Management Solutions
KLA-Tencor Taiwan Branch Hsinchu, Taiwan 011 886 35 335163 KLA-Tencor Limited Wokingham, United Kingdom 011 44 118 936 5700