Plasma-Therm Announces Strategic Ion Beam Development and Licensing Agreement

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Plasma-Therm, a leading manufacturer of plasma-process equipment for the semiconductor industry, has signed a landmark agreement with one of the world’s largest semiconductor equipment companies for Ion Beam Etch technology development and equipment. The multi-year agreement was won in the face of significant competition from other well-known suppliers of this type of technology, company executives said.

“The deciding factors in this long-term agreement were the superior reliability and lifespan of our ion sources, grid
assemblies, and electron sources, and the low overhead associated with our high-speed motion control systems, compared to the other systems that were evaluated,” said Hari Hedge, president of Plasma-Therm’s Ion Beam Division. “Critical sub-assemblies of our QuaZar™ 200mm IBE platform are designed to be ported over for this development project. Production field data on the performance, superior uniformity, and industry-leading COO of these components was a major deciding factor,” in winning the agreement, Hedge said.

This agreement would not have occurred without the strategic acquisition by Plasma-Therm of Nano Etch Systems in 2016. “Ion Beam technology is a strategic and growing market for Plasma-Therm, and that’s why we developed the QuaZar™ platform. Today, QuaZar™ is the most advanced Ion Beam manufacturing system available,” said Jim Garstka, vice president of sales and business development.

“Plasma-Therm’s investment and continued advancement in this industry-leading Ion Beam etch and deposition technology, coupled with our award-winning customer service and support, is enabling new process advancements for our data storage, magnetic memory, and advanced R&D customers,” Garstka said.