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Newport posts largest sale

Newport, a manufacturer of high-precision equipment components, says a recent $4-million order from Therma-Wave is the largest single contract in the company's history. Therma-Wave purchased motion platforms from Newport's MikroPrecision subsidiary for installation in film-thickness measurement systems. Based in Irvine, CA, Newport specializes in vibration control, optics, and precision positioning components.

Asyst tools head northwest

A chipmaker with a fab in the Pacific Northwest has bought wafer-isolation equipment valued at more than $9 million from Asyst Technologies, the vendor reported. The order includes SMIF loadport transfer tools, minienvironments, and SMIF-Pods. The tools will be used to manufacture devices with 0.35- and 0.25-µm design rules on 8-in. wafers. The unnamed semiconductor manufacturer is expanding its foundry. According to Asyst, the SMIF systems will help the chipmaker maintain its output of 35,000 wafers per month. Shipment of the tools began in January.

SpeedFam has $28M quarter

Purchases of CMP systems by existing customers helped SpeedFam International to tally sales of more than $28 million during the third quarter of the 1998 fiscal year, the vendor said. The repeat customers are dispersed throughout North America. The vendor also picked up two new clients in Asia. The multiple orders came for the company's Auriga-C dry-in/dry-out CMP system and second-generation Auriga CMP system. The equipment will be used for both oxide and metal planarization processes in the manufacture of DRAMs, microprocessors, and ASIC devices, SpeedFam says. The company is building an 87,000-sq-ft technology center next to its corporate headquarters in Chandler, AZ. The site will house 21,000 sq ft of Class 10,000 to Class 1 cleanroom space.

Daw sells air handlers

A major U.S. chipmaker will install air handlers from Daw Technologies in two Class 1 cleanrooms under construction. Total cost of the Stratus recirculating air handlers was approximately $2 million.

AG client asks for seconds

AG Associates has received repeat orders totaling $2.5 million for its single-wafer RTP systems from a large Japanese chipmaker. The Heatpulse 8800 systems are scheduled for shipment during the third and fourth quarters of this year. The tools will be used for annealing and salicidation applications in the manufacturing of DRAMs and logic semiconductors with 0.25- and 0.35-µm linewidths.

Eaton takes $7M order

Eaton's semiconductor equipment unit has received an order valued at more than $7 million for high-energy implantation systems and RTP tools. The unit made the sale to a large manufacturer of semiconductors and consumer electronics. The tools will be used in the company's new Texas fab, Eaton says.

Laser writers sold

Three laser writers from Micron Laser Systems of Täby, Sweden, have been shipped to customers in the United States and Asia, the vendor announced. The LRS 200 systems are designed for high-precision pattern generation with reticle sets down to 0.5 µm and noncritical levels down to 0.25 µm. The system incorporates acoustooptical deflector technology for CD uniformity and smooth line edges.

Oxford sells to Northwestern

Northwestern University and a manufacturer of GaAs microwave devices have purchased etching and deposition equipment from Oxford Plasma Technology of Bristol, England. The university bought an Ionfab 300Plus ion-beam system, a Plasmalab System 100 ICP cluster tool, and a dual-chamber Plasmalab 80Plus RIE and PECVD system. Northwestern will install the tools in its new research facility, according to Oxford. The other customer is Alpha Industries, which produces GaAs microwave devices at its plant in Woburn, MA. The company ordered two Plasmalab 90Plus systems for batch etching GaAs through wafer vias and a Plasmalab 800Plus unit for low-stress deposition of silicon nitride passivation layers. The order totaled more than $2 million.

Pall installs treatment system

Pall's microelectronics division has installed a Microza ultrafiltration system at Cirent Semiconductor's fab in Orlando, FL. The system treats CMP wastewater and processes a mixture of used slurries from both oxide and metal polishing tools. The concentrated slurry is converted into a dry cake with a filter press. Pall has installed three Microza systems since 1997. A fourth installation was scheduled for April 1998.

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