Honeywell switches to 6-inch rad-hard fab

Leaders of the Honeywell Solid State Electronics Center in Minneapolis have switched from 4-inch to 6-inch wafers for their digital radiation-hardened semiconductor manufacturing line. Creating space-qualified ICs on the new 6-inch line will enable Honeywell to expand capacity and attack new markets, company officials say. The new line manufactures silicon on insulator (SOI) and bulk CMOS devices. Honeywell officials say the new line can produce faster and lower-power devices than comparable bulk CMOS lines. Honeywell leaders are moving to 0.25-micron geometries with their SOI technology, and are improving circuit yields relative to bulk technology. - J.K.