News

23 March 2010

 

Tegal sells thin-film etch and PVD assets to OEM Group

Tegal Corp of Petaluma, CA, USA, which makes plasma etch and deposition systems for the fabrication of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), power ICs and optoelectronic devices, has sold its legacy thin-film etch and physical vapor deposition (PVD) product lines to OEM Group Inc of Gilbert, AZ, USA for up to $3m (of which a maximum of $1m is subject to OEM Group’s achievement of certain target sales levels). OEM Group provides new and remanufactured front-end equipment to manufacturers of silicon devices as well as MEMS, LEDs, RFID devices, power devices, and photovoltaic (with more than 1300 projects completed since 1999).

Included in the sale are the Tegal 900ACS, 980ACS, 6500 HRe - and 6500 Spectra series thin-film etch products, along with the Sputtered Films Endeavor and AMS PVD series products, intellectual property and process know-how. OEM Group will bring continued global support to existing Tegal thin-film etch and PVD customers, and will integrate the technologies into their LEGENDS portfolio, which already includes the MRC Eclipse (PVD), AG Heatpulse (RTP), Lam AutoEtch (etch), and Varian Sunset (Implant) product lines.

“OEM Group is the perfect company for these Tegal products, which represent an important legacy in semiconductor capital equipment and process technology,” says Tegal’s president & CEO Thomas Mika. “ We are pleased that we have been able to place these products and many of the skilled employees associated with them in a company whose business model is built on the continued sales, service and support of late-life-cycle technology into new and existing customers and markets,” he adds. OEM Group is also a global re-manufacturer of systems, chambers, and conversions for the Applied Materials Endura, Centura and P5000; Mattson Aspen II; and Novellus Concept One and Two platforms (including installation, start-up, and warranty support).

“With the addition of the Sputtered Films technologies to our own PVD focus, we believe we will have an unmatched product offering,” says OEM Group’s president Wayne Jeveli. “Over the course of more than 30 years, Tegal’s brand has symbolized innovation, quality and customer focus. We believe these attributes will continue on for many years at OEM Group.”

Tegal says that the sale of the thin-film etch and PVD product lines represents a step in the execution of its strategy (announced in mid-2009) to pursue strategic alternatives for the firm. Meanwhile, Tegal intends to continue to sell and support its full range of deep reactive ion etch (DRIE) systems acquired from Alcatel Micro Machining Systems (AMMS) in September 2008, which are critical enablers for etching silicon and dielectric films found in the MEMS, bio-tech, power IC, optoelectronic, and 3D-IC (interconnect) markets. Tegal’s DRIE tools are used in MEMS foundries and commercial high-volume manufacturing lines, as well as many academic and commercial R&D laboratories worldwide.

See related items:

Tegal’s revenue falls further, but orders and losses rebound

Tegal declares going concern qualification

Tegal’s quarterly revenue down 74% year-on-year

Search: Tegal Thin-film etch PVD DRIE Plasma etch

Visit: www.Tegal.com

Visit: www.oemgroupinc.com