OEM Group Acquires Legacy Thin Film Etch and PVD Product Lines from Tegal Corporation
OEM Group Inc., equipment solution providers to worldwide makers of Silicon, MEMS, LED, RFID, Power Devices, and Photovoltaic devices, announced on March 23rd, 2010 the successful completion of the acquisition of Tegal Corporation's legacyPVD product lines. In this acquisition, OEM Group adds the Sputtered Films Endeavor and AMS PVD series products to their "LEGENDS" offering.
OEM Group will bring continued global support to existing TegalPVD customers, with an install base approaching 2000 systems; and, by integrating these world class technologies into their already deep product mix, OEM Group is well positioned to serve the growing number of customers in emerging markets, like MEMS, BAW, LEDs, and beyond. OEM Group will also build upon Tegals success in AlN PVD foundry services, and offer the most comprehensive mix of PVD platforms to their foundry customers.
The Endeavor PVD cluster tool features Tegal's patented S-Gun magnetron sputtering source. The platform is designed to accept up to five process modules including a wide array of both dielectric and metal sputtering configurations in addition to plasma pre-clean modules. The transport system can accommodate 50mm to 200mm wafers , or 6" square reticles, in a unique "sputter-up" orientation that is extremely gentle and reliable. The unique handling system is especially advantageous for backside metallization on delicate ultra-thin silicon wafers , as it handles them without flipping or applying any mechanical pressure. Each system incorporates state-of-the-art cluster tool technology with the latest innovations in contamination control and factory automation. Flexible and robust, Tegal's Endeavor systems meet the challenges of depositing new materials in today's production environment with clear upgrade paths for the future.
The Tegal AMS PVD systems offer state-of-the-art PVD and reactive sputtering of aluminum nitride (AlN) films for piezoelectric devices such as BAW and FBAR filters. The acquisition of the AMS platform in 2007 represents Tegal's most recent product offering for MEMS device research and manufacturing. The Tegal AMS systems feature a unique implementation of the dual cathode S-Gun magnetron source specifically optimized for the most demanding film thickness uniformity specifications in the PVD industry (<1.5% 3 sigma).
The AlN reactive sputtering module can be configured as a low-cost, stand-alone system for basic thin film research in the Tegal AMS SMT tool, or fully integrated for device production with one or two additional PVD modules for molybdenum (Mo) or other electrode materials in the Tegal EndeavorAT cluster tool.
AMS, AMS SMT, Endeavor, EndeavorAT and EndeavorEUV are trademarks of OEM Group, Inc.
All 6500 Series Plasma Etch systems feature either Tegal's patented dual-frequency HRe CCP process module technology. The production tested cluster platform design incorporated on all 6500 systems accommodates either one or two etch process modules for processing of 100mm to 200mm wafers. Each module can be configured to run independent processesoptimizing flexibility, minimizing downtime and maximizing wafer throughput. The 6500 system comes standard with one vacuum cassette elevator for wafer I/O. Optionally, a second vacuum cassette elevator or patented Rinse-Strip-Rinse corrosion passivation station may be added within the standard frame. Each system incorporates full cluster tool technology with the latest innovations in contamination control and factory automation. Tegal's 6500 Series systems have demonstrated their effectiveness in addressing the challenges of etching new materials in a production environment now and in the future.
The Tegal 900ACS & 980ACS Series extend the most durable and most reliable non-critical plasma etch tools in the semiconductor industry. No other line of single wafer cassette-to-cassette etch systems in production today offers the value and rapid return on investment for non-critical plasma etch processes for 75mm to 200mm wafers. ACS delivers faster throughput, faster system calibration, touchscreen graphical user interface, integrated data logging, and factory automation support.
900ACS, 980ACS, HRe, and Rinse-Strip-Rinse are trademarks of OEM Group, Inc.
