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STMicroelectronics Is To Supply Critical Components For The Large Hadron

STMicroelectronics is to supply critical components for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) being constructed by CERN, in Geneva, Switzerland. The LHC will smash extreme high energy particles to investigate fundamental particle theories such as the
Calculations based on the Standard Model suggest that the Higgs boson would
be produced by only one in every 1tr collisions between the high-energy
protons. The Higgs mechanism was postulated in the 1960s by Peter Higgs as a
way of introducing masses into theories that seemed to only allow massless
particles (Gauge theories). In particular, the weak interaction responsible
for beta decay needed three massive interaction particles - two "Ws" with
charge +1 and -1 and the neutral Z (since created at CERN and other
laboratories). A shadow that could have been the Higgs was detected in the
last weeks of the previous big CERN collider, the electron-positron smasher
called LEP.
ST will supply specially designed silicon sensors that will detect nuclear
particles generated in the LHC experiments, including experiments designed
to detect the Higgs boson. ST will specially manufacture some 20,000
sensors, of eight different types. Because the sensors have an area around
100 times larger than conventional silicon chips, their manufacture requires
the most stringent precautions to eliminate impurities and defects in the
silicon crystal.
The ST sensors will be used in one of the most important experiments that
will be performed when the LHC starts operation in 2005. Known as the
Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS), the experiment is designed to provide, among
other things, a definitive answer to the question: does the Higgs boson
exist?
Giuseppe Ferla, R&D director of ST's Discrete and Standard Circuits group,
reports: "ST is uniquely qualified to play its part in this endeavour;
through our close links with universities such as Florence and Pisa and the
INFN centre at Pisa, we have the highly specialised and rare expertise
required to work with the CERN physicists, while the excellence of our
manufacturing processes means that we can produce the devices in the volumes
required."
The sensors will be manufactured at ST's M3 fab in Catania, Italy, using a
technology similar to that used to produce powerMOSFETs. However, because
each sensor measures around 9x9cm, much larger than a typical silicon chip,
it is only possible to fit a single sensor on each wafer. The process
involves some eight basic stages.
"Semiconductor manufacturers normally make hundreds of chip simultaneously
on each wafer and expect a few of them to be defective due to normal
manufacturing tolerances," says Ferla. "We will be making just one sensor on
each wafer and making sure that each one works perfectly is our contribution
to this prestigious experiment."
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FTC files against Rambus
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed an administrative complaint
against Rambus, the developer of high speed memory and chip communication
protocols. The complaint relates to Rambus' activity on a JEDEC standards
committee between 1992-1995. The FTC is charging Rambus with violating
federal antitrust laws by deliberately engaging in a pattern of
anticompetitive acts and practices that served to deceive an industry-wide
standard-setting organisation, resulting in adverse effects on competition
and consumers.
Infineon has successfully argued in court previously (Bulletins 383, May 21,
2001; 384, June 7, 2001; 392, July 23, 2001; 395, August 13, 2001; 411,
December 3, 2001) that Rambus was guilty of fraud in the standards committee
responsible for synchronous DRAM (SDRAM). Rambus has been appealing these
decisions, which have also affected patent infringement cases against Micron
Technology and Hynix.
"These cases all derive from the same facts," was the response from John
Danforth, senior vice president and general counsel for Rambus. "They all
involve the same core issue of whether Rambus complied with JEDEC rules,
which may or may not have shifted over time, and appropriately disclosed its
patent interests in the 1992-1995 time frame. Given that the United States
Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is currently scrutinising this
matter, we are somewhat surprised to see this complaint by the FTC."
He adds: "We believe we have established that Rambus fully complied with
JEDEC's disclosure policy and that Rambus had no undisclosed patents, or
even applications, during the relevant time period that read on any proposed
JEDEC standard. At the end of the day, we believe that the FTC process,
either at the administrative level or on appeal, will conclude that our
actions were entirely appropriate and lawful."
Joseph J Simons, director of the FTC's Bureau of Competition, has a somewhat
different view: "The conduct at issue here has done substantial harm to
important technology markets, and threatens to undermine participation in
industry standard-setting activities more generally. By issuing this
complaint, the commission is sending a signal not only to Rambus but also to
other companies. The message is this: If you are going to take part in a
standards process, be mindful to abide by the ground rules and to
participate in good faith."
Among the ground rules the FTC points to is one which says the
standardisation programmes conducted by JEDEC "shall not be proposed for or
indirectly result in . . . restricting competition, giving a competitive
advantage to any manufacturer, [or] excluding competitors from the market."
JEDEC further attempts to avoid incorporating patented technology into
published standards. If patented technology is used, it should be available
royalty-free or on otherwise reasonable and non-discriminatory terms. The
organisation has procedures for disclosure of patents and pending
applications involved in the standards-setting work.
The FTC's complaint maintains that Rambus participated in SDRAM standards
committees for more than four years without ever making it known to JEDEC or
its members that Rambus was actively working to develop - and did in fact
possess a patent and several pending patent applications - specific
technologies proposed for, and ultimately adopted in, the relevant
standards. Since then, Rambus has asserted its patent rights against
companies using the JEDEC SDRAM standards. If Rambus' intentions had been
disclosed, it is likely that the SDRAM standard would have been impacted,
according to the FTC, and the royalty levels demanded by Rambus would not
likely have been sustainable.
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