MICRO: Product Extra!

Product Extra!

Newport has developed deep ultraviolet (DUV) coating process improvements that enable excellent lifetime results. The company achieved a new pulse lifetime record for its DUV coatings on an optic produced on a fused silica substrate that is a high reflector for 193 nm, delivering reflectivity of 98.2% at near-normal incidence. This mirror survived exposure to more than 11 billion pulses (5 mJ/cm² at repetition rates of up to 4 kHz) from an argon fluoride laser without catastrophic failure. Furthermore, within measurement tolerance, it did not experience a decrease in reflectance. Information: www.newport.com.

Trebor has received a patent for its high-purity quartz electric resistive heater technology, which is used in the company's Quantum DI-water heater product line. The patent relates to the thin-film-on-quartz electrical resistance heater element, which provides high temperature response and greater reliability than heating methods that require frequent bulb changeouts, such as in infrared heating. The proprietary design has no metal exposure and virtually eliminates the risk of contamination in the event of element failure. The company plans to incorporate the technology into a range of products. Information: www.treborintl.com. (Semicon Europa, Booth B2.476)

A redesigned Web site from Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Microelectronics Business features easy-to-use navigation and search features, in addition to news and events. The site provides information on Furon and AstiPure fluid-handling products for critical applications. Product literature on high-purity valves, fittings, pumps, tubing, regulators, and accessories can be viewed. The business unit offers other semiconductor-grade fluid-handling products, such as integrated manifolds. Information:www.microelectronics.saint-gobain.com. (Semicon Europa, Booths B1.455, B1.352)

Akrion has received a U.S. patent for a system that uses the company's DIO₃ ozonated-water photoresist stripping process. The patent covers the system and hardware, which reduce the boundary layer thickness in the DIO₃ fluid-flow field, increasing the photoresist's strip rate. The process allows manufacturers to use a benign formula of DI water injected with ozone for many resist-strip steps. It reduces the use of sulfuric acid, hydrogen peroxide, and DI water, reducing the cost of ownership and eliminating costs associated with generating and disposing of chemicals. Information: www.akrion.com. (Semicon Europa, Booth B2.408)

Version 2.1 of eCentre from ILS Technology, which establishes secure connections between IC equipment in the fab and OEMs as well as among fab engineers both inside and outside the facility, offers nine new features. One feature is a light-pole status function, which enables authorized users to log into the system and see a tool's status indicator lights, as if they were actually on the fab floor. Another feature is a data viewer that allows users to view data that are being collected from a tool through the SECS/HSMS port or a formatted XML data stream based on the SEMI PR8 equipment data acquisition standard. Two file management features have also been added: an automatic file-download function that downloads specified files at specified times to an authorized destination, and a feature that enables users to review a list of files that have been replaced or deleted from the tool. Information: www.ilstechnology.com.