[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 173 (Monday, September 8, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53166-53167]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-21211]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Bureau of Industry and Security
[Docket No. 140814669-4669-01]
Notice of Foreign Availability Assessment: Anisotropic Plasma Dry
Etching Equipment
AGENCY: Bureau of Industry and Security, Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of Initiation of a Foreign Availability Assessment and
Request for Comments.
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SUMMARY: This notice is to announce that the Bureau of Industry and
Security (BIS) is initiating a foreign availability assessment pursuant
to section 5(f) of the Export Administration Act of 1979, as amended
(EAA). BIS's Office of Technology Evaluation (OTE) will oversee the
assessment of the foreign availability in China of anisotropic plasma
dry etching equipment. BIS is also seeking public comments on the
foreign availability of this equipment in China.
DATES: Comments must be received by September 23, 2014.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
Email: [email protected]. Include the phrase
``Plasma Dry Etch FA Study'' in the subject line;
On paper to Orestes Theocharides, Office of Technology
Evaluation, Bureau of Industry and Security, U.S. Department of
Commerce, Room 1093, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC
20230, or his email at [email protected]. Include the
phrase ``Plasma Dry Etch FA Study''; or
Fax to (202) 482-5361. Include the phrase ``Plasma Dry
Etch FA Study''.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gerard Horner, Director, Office of
Technology Evaluation, Bureau of Industry and Security, Department of
Commerce, Washington, DC 20230, Telephone: (202) 482-2078; email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Section 5(f) of the Export Administration Act of 1979, as amended
(EAA), authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to conduct foreign
availability assessments to examine and reevaluate the effectiveness of
U.S. dual-use export controls on certain items that are controlled for
national security reasons under the Export Administration Regulations
(EAR). The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has been delegated the
responsibility of conducting these assessments and compiling a final
report for the Secretary's review and consideration when issuing a
final foreign availability determination. Part 768 of the EAR sets
forth the procedures related to foreign availability assessments. BIS
is publishing this notice to announce the initiation of an assessment
and to request public comments on certain aspects of the item under
review.
Foreign Availability Assessment
On behalf of the Secretary, BIS has initiated an assessment in
response to a foreign availability claim received from the
Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) industry
association. The SEMI claim asserts the foreign availability of
anisotropic plasma dry etching equipment in China from Chinese sources.
The etching equipment in China is allegedly designed or optimized to
produce critical dimensions of 65 nm or less; and within-wafer non-
uniformity equal to or less than 10% 3[sigma] measured with an edge
exclusion of 2 mm or less.
Items with these capabilities are currently controlled in the U.S.
for national security reasons under Export Control Commodity
Classification Number (ECCN) 3B001.c on the Commerce Control List
(Supplement No. 1 to Part 774 of the EAR). U.S. controls do not allow
this item to be exported to China without a license. This type of
semiconductor etching equipment is used in the production process of a
variety of dual-use semiconductor devices such as flash memories,
microwave monolithic integrated circuits, transistors, and analog-to-
digital-converters. These devices are suitable for use in a variety of
both civil and military applications that include different types of
radars, point-to-point radio communications, microprocessors, cellular
infrastructure, and satellite communications.
The SEMI claim asserts that anisotropic plasma dry etch equipment
of comparable quality to those subject to control under 3B001.c are
available-in-fact from Chinese sources in sufficient quantities to
render the U.S. export control of the etch equipment ineffective.
BIS has reviewed the SEMI claim and determined that it has
sufficient evidence to assess whether or not foreign availability of
this etch equipment from Chinese sources exists. Therefore, BIS is
initiating a foreign availability assessment of anisotropic plasma dry
etching equipment designed or optimized to produce critical dimensions
of 65 nm or less; and within-wafer non-uniformity equal to or less than
10% 3[sigma] measured with an edge exclusion of 2 mm or less. Upon
completion of the assessment, BIS will submit its findings to the
Secretary of Commerce, who in turn will issue a final determination for
the Department. The final determination will be published in the
Federal Register.
Request for Comments
To assist in assessing the foreign availability, described above,
of this anisotropic plasma dry etch equipment, BIS is seeking public
comments and submissions that relate to the following information:
Product names and model designations of anisotropic plasma
dry etch equipment that are made in China and that are comparable to
the U.S. anisotropic plasma dry etch equipment designed or optimized to
produce critical dimensions of 65 nm or less; and within-wafer non-
uniformity equal to or less than 10% 3[sigma] measured with an edge
exclusion of 2 mm or less. (U.S. dry etch equipment);
names and locations of Chinese companies that produce and
export indigenously-produced anisotropic plasma dry etch equipment
comparable to U.S. dry etch equipment;
Chinese production quantities, sales, and/or exports of
anisotropic plasma dry etch equipment comparable to U.S. dry etch
equipment;
data on U.S. imports of Chinese anisotropic plasma dry
etch equipment comparable to U.S. dry etch equipment, and/or testing
and analysis of such dry etch equipment;
estimates of the economic impact on U.S. companies of the
export controls on the U.S. dry etch equipment.
Any tangible evidence to support the above information would also
be useful to BIS in its conduct of this assessment. Examples of other
useful evidence are found in Supplement No. 1 to Part 768 of the EAR.
Submission of Comments
All comments may be submitted by any of the methods indicated in
this
[[Page 53167]]
notice. All comments must be in writing (either submitted by email or
on paper).
BIS encourages interested persons who wish to comment to do so at
the earliest possible time. The period for submission of comments will
close on September 23, 2014. BIS will consider all comments received
before the close of the comment period. Comments received after the
close of the comment period will be considered if possible, but their
consideration cannot be assured.
BIS will accept comments or information accompanied by a request
that part or all of the material be treated confidentially because of
its proprietary nature. The information for which confidential
treatment is requested must be submitted to BIS separately from non-
confidential information. Each page containing company confidential
information must be marked ``Confidential Information.'' Please be
careful to mark only that information that is legitimately company
confidential, trade secret, proprietary, or financial information with
the ``confidential information'' designation. BIS will seek to protect
such information to the extent permitted by law. If submitted
information fails to meet the standards for confidential treatment, BIS
will immediately return the information to the submitter.
Information submitted in response to this notice, and not deemed
confidential, will be a matter of public record and will be available
for public inspection and copying. Comments received in response to
this notice will be displayed on BIS's Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) Web site at http://efoia.bis.doc.gov/.
Dated: August 28, 2014.
Matthew Borman,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Export Administration.
[FR Doc. 2014-21211 Filed 9-5-14; 8:45 am]
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