LIVINGTON, Scotland and ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Feb. 28, 2017) — memsstar Ltd. and Plasma-Therm LLC, both leading providers of semiconductor processing equipment for specialty markets, announced today that they have entered into a distribution agreement for North America. The agreement gives Plasma-Therm the exclusive rights to distribute all release products (HF and XeF2) as well as self-assembled monolayer (SAM) products from memsstar, adding to Plasma-Therm’s deep silicon etch (DSE™) and plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) portfolio.
The two companies can now deliver complete MEMS fabrication solutions to customers in North America based on a combined product portfolio of production-proven VERSALINE®, Apex™, ORBIS™, XERIC™ and AURIX™ systems. This alliance will leverage Plasma-Therm’s recognized customer service commitment as demonstrated by 18 years of VLSIresearch awards.
“The agreement with Plasma-Therm is a critical component to our North American expansion strategy,” said Tony McKie, CEO of memsstar. “By combining forces with Plasma-Therm, we are able to better serve U.S. MEMS manufacturers with solutions that span the etch and deposition process steps. We are eager to get started serving our customers with the competitive advantages that our combined technologies can offer.’’
“Our ability to offer combined DSE and HF vapor technology solutions to MEMS manufacturers is a key milestone,” commented Yannick Pilloux, business development manager at Plasma-Therm. “Offering multiple products with a greater knowledge of process integration issues will ultimately strengthen our relationships with customers.”
Plasma-Therm’s state-of-the-art DSE IV technology delivered on the VERSALINE platform with a single cassette or dual cassette load-locks has very high etch rate capability as well as best-in-market selectivity to oxide and aluminum masking layers. It offers excellent wafer uniformity and high wafer throughput, resulting in low cost of ownership for medium- to high-volume MEMS manufacturers.
memsstar’s XERIC HF vapor release technology can be installed on the ORBIS platform Alpha 1000 for R&D to small volume production, or on the ORBIS 3000 for high-volume production. XERIC’s single wafer processing technology provides excellent uniformity and huge selectivity to SiNx film.
About Plasma-Therm
Plasma-Therm LLC is a manufacturer of leading plasma etch, deposition, and advanced packaging equipment for specialty semiconductor and nanotechnology markets. Plasma-Therm’s plasma-processing and advanced-packaging solutions are used in research, pilot manufacturing, and volume production of wireless, photonics, solid state lighting, MEMS/NEMS, data storage and other devices. Learn more at www.plasmatherm.com.
About memsstar Limited
memsstar Limited is a leading provider of deposition and etch equipment and technology products and services to manufacturers of semiconductors and micro-electrical mechanical systems (MEMS). The company’s remanufactured etch and deposition equipment and its proprietary technology solutions support the European semiconductor market and the global MEMS market. memsstar delivers proprietary process technology and equipment to help the MEMS industry meet the challenges of developing and manufacturing increasingly complex and integrated MEMS devices. https://memsstar.com/
