BACKGROUND

After watching Japanese semiconductor manufacturers whittle away the Americans’ worldwide market lead, U.S. chip makers joined, with government backing, in 1987 to form Sematech, a consortium dedicated to improving the domestic industry. The Austin, Tex.-based venture researches new semiconductor technologies and encourages its members to use them in their daily operations. Members of the 14-company consortium include International Business Machines, American Telephone & Telegraph, Intel, National Semiconductor, Advanced Micro Devices and Texas Instruments.