[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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