INDUSTRY NEWS

EXPANSIONS AND ACQUISITIONS

Corning to buy Tropel

Corning, the New York­based supplier of microlithography optical materials, broadened its line of product offerings with the acquisition of Tropel. The $190-million deal closed in March. Located in Fairport, NY, Tropel manufactures precision optics and metrology tools. Corning says Tropel's line of metrology instruments for wafer, photomask, and chipmaking tool suppliers will complement its family of optical materials. Corning will pay approximately $60 million in cash and 1.95 million shares of common stock for Tropel. John Bruning will stay on as president and CEO of the company, which will become a wholly owned subsidiary within Corning's specialty materials division.

Rodel signs Asian slurry deal

Phoenix-based Rodel will market copper CMP slurries made by Eternal Chemical under the terms of a new agreement. Taiwan-based Eternal will get the benefit of Rodel's worldwide sales and support infrastructure, while Rodel will have access to Eternal's advanced slurries for copper planarization. The solutions have been qualified for 130- and 100-nm copper CMP processes. Rodel is a division of the Rohm and Haas Electronics Materials Group, which had electronic materials sales totaling more than $1.2 billion in 2000. Eternal Chemical reports annual sales of $406 million.

Extraction focuses on DUV

Extraction Systems has established an R&D group that will take on molecular contamination in deep-UV lithography systems. The company, which makes airborne molecular contamination equipment, notes that optical contamination risks for chipmakers migrating to costly 193-nm lithography are particularly high. "The cost of the optics assembly used in 193-nm tools is the highest the industry has ever seen, and protection of these optics is a prime concern of our customers," says Devon Kinkead, president and CEO. "The industry's understanding of optical contamination risks is still in its infancy."

Anatoly Grayfer has been chosen director and senior scientist of the group. Grayfer joined the company in 1998 and helped to develop the molecular contamination control technology for Extraction's TMB-150 process monitor as well as the Vaporsorb II filter for DUV track systems.

Mattson selling CVD unit

Mattson Technology is seeking a new home for its RTCVD business. The Fremont, CA­based manufacturer of thermal, plasma, and wet process equipment has put the single-wafer RTCVD unit up for sale. Mattson acquired the business, formerly called Steag CVD Systems, as part of a merger with Steag. Mattson says it plans to concentrate on its core business. The company has hired Alliant partners of Palo Alto, CA, to manage the sale.

Ibis, MEMC form wafer team

MEMC Electronic Materials of St. Peters, MO, received worldwide rights to sell SIMOX-SOI wafers made by Ibis Technology under the terms of a new alliance. The pact grants MEMC, a silicon wafer manufacturer, the right to license the SIMOX-SOI technology and to buy Ibis oxygen implanters. The product line includes Advantox MLD substrates, which Ibis designed for CMOS applications. SOI wafers are particularly suitable for devices placed in laptop computers and other battery-powered products, Ibis says, because the substrates allow production of ICs that operate at high speeds and low power. Ibis headquarters is in Danvers, MA.

TEL buys software vendor

TEL, the leading Japanese manufacturer of process tools, says its acquisition of a measurement software vendor will enable the company to integrate advanced process controls and technologies for yield management in its next-generation equipment. By acquiring Timbre Technologies for an undisclosed sum, TEL receives Timbre's optical digital profile program. Timbre was founded in 1998, having spun off from the Micro Lab at the University of California, Berkeley.

MicroHome | Search | Current Issue | MicroArchives
Buyers Guide | Media Kit