INDUSTRY NEWS

EXPANSIONS AND ACQUISITIONS

Adept eyes BYE acquisition

Factory automation supplier Adept Technology of San Jose has signed a nonbinding letter of intent to purchase BYE/Oasis Engineering, a manufacturer of minienvironments and SMIF tools. The merger is expected to close in late summer, Adept says. It did not disclose the purchase price. The acquisition would broaden Adept's factory automation product line in wafer processing and microelectronics while providing BYE/Oasis with the benefits of Adept's marketing and service expertise. Adept recently introduced two front-end semiconductor robots, although it has been primarily involved in back-end automation since the mid-1980s.

Tosoh buys stake in SET

Tosoh SMD of Grove City, OH, has bought a 25% stake in Semiconductor Equipment Technology (SET), a manufacturer of PVD shields for semiconductor and thin-film media sputtering tools. According to Tosoh, the equity position makes it the first manufacturer of sputtering targets to enter the PVD shield market. Most of its customers use shield components, Tosoh says. The shielding is placed inside the sputtering tool and surrounds the target and wafer to capture stray sputtered materials not sticking to the wafer. Adding the shields to its product family will help Tosoh better understand client processes in order to improve materials and services, the vendor says.

Firms team to remove polymer

SEZ Group and EKC Technology have targeted polymer removal technology as partners in a recently signed alliance. The nonexclusive partnership calls for the two companies to develop a process solution for chips with linewidths ¾0.25 µm. The alliance brings together SEZ's single-wafer process cleaning technology and EKC's expertise in chemical formulation. The companies claim the new processes will help chipmakers improve yield and reduce consumption of water and chemicals by providing a more efficient polymer-removal mechanism.

Probe vendor to triple output

A manufacturer of wafer probe cards has leased a 60,000-sq-ft plant in Beaverton, OR, allowing it to triple its manufacturing capability. Cascade Microtech says it opened the new Class 1 facility in response to growing market demand for the latest generation of its Pyramid Probe. The product is the first commercially successful membrane probe, according to Cascade. The market for probe cards has grown to $300 million, according to Ken Smith, vice president of the pyramid probe business unit. He reports record bookings in the first quarter of this year, fueled primarily by demand for communications networks. In addition, the growing demand for higher on-wafer probing speeds are firing interest in the Pyramid Probe cards, Smith claims.

Dow opens resin plant

Dow Chemical has opened a plant in Midland, MI, that will manufacture SiLK semiconductor dielectric resins. The plant's computer-controlled production facility will also house upgraded cleanroom areas and commercial spin track and metrology gear. Dow says the low-k polymer is designed for integration into high-temperature metal deposition aluminum/tungsten or copper processes. The SiLK resins have a dielectric constant 40% lower than commonly used interlayer dielectric materials, Dow claims. Semiconductors made with the polymers have faster processing speeds and lower cross-talk problems than those made without the resin, according to the company.

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