25 April 2012

OEM Group ships multi-tool surface preparation order for LED maker's 150mm production

Semiconductor capital equipment provider OEM Group of Phoenix, AZ, USA says that earlier this month it shipped the first systems of a multi-tool order to a major LED manufacturing firm. The order included Spray Ozone Tool (SOT) and Spray Acid Tool (SAT) surface preparation systems from OEM Group's Cintillio product line (acquired from Applied Materials-Semitool in May 2011). Available initially only in Europe, the wet-chemical processing tool set has now been introduced throughout Asia and the Americas by OEM Group.

“Cintillio’s innovative and proprietary Enhanced Spray Technology — featuring up to six rows of nozzles — ensures high throughput and reliable wafer surface wetting with chemical mixtures,” says OEM Group chief technology officer Christian Forgey. “Cintillio breaks technological ground in 25/50-wafer batch process by offering a common platform for solvent, acid and ozone applications,” he adds. “With the smallest cabinet footprint (1.78m2) among similar equipment, SAT/SOT saves fab-floor real estate while its convenient side access makes routine maintenance checks both safe and user friendly,” Forgey claims. 

SOT’s HydroOzone post-ash clean was recognized with the ‘Sustainable Technologies Award’ at SEMICON West 2009 for its ability to: eliminate thousands of gallons of sulphuric acid and hydrogen peroxide; reduce deionized water consumption by 84%; reduce cycle time; reduce defects; and increase yield.

OEM Group's customer — an international supplier of light-emitting diodes for display, backlighting, automotive and general lighting applications — says that they selected Cintillio SAT and SOT because of the systems’ “flexibility to handle both resist strip as well as organic cleaning after etching”. The systems will support the LED maker’s 150mm production.

“Like so many chip makers we’ve talked with since we acquired the Cintillio portfolio last May, our LED customer was particularly impressed by the cost-effective high-throughout potential of SAT and SOT,” says CEO Wayne Jeveli. “Because of Cintillio’s semi-automated batch-system capabilities, numerous wafer lots may be processed simultaneously. And that saves fabs time and money,” he adds.

The Cintillio line also includes the single- and dual-chamber Spray Solvent Tool (SST) with one, two or three chemical system configurations that accommodate most solvent-based process applications.

Cintillio is the 11th product line addition to OEM Group’s LEGENDS portfolio, which was launched at SEMICON West in 2008.

“Since our debut, LEGENDS systems have steadily expanded their reputation as field-proven and game-changing for both established semiconductor markets and emerging-technology innovators,” says Jeveli. “The spray system manufacturing expertise we gained through last year’s (Applied Materials/Semitool) acquisition bolstered LEGENDS’ value proposition by adding cutting-edge and proven dry-in/dry-out wet chemical process technology that optimizes our customers’ processing times and return on investment.”

Tags: OEM Group LEDs

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