August 9, 2001 – San Diego, CA – JMAR Technologies Inc. has completed the purchase of the outstanding equity of Vermont-based Semiconductor Advanced Lithography Inc. (SAL), a provider of X-ray lithography (XRL) stepper systems.
SAL’s XRL systems have already demonstrated the ability to image sub-100nm circuit patterns. At the closing, SAL was merged into JMAR/SAL NanoLithography Inc., or “J-SAL,” a California wholly owned subsidiary of JMAR Technologies.
By integrating JMAR’s laser plasma X-ray sources with SAL’s X-ray steppers and other supporting technologies, the new J-SAL unit will become one of only two remaining US-owned lithography system companies. The new entity’s first strategic target is to provide manufacturers of high-speed gallium arsenide semiconductors an integrated XRL processing capability before the end of 2002. J-SAL believes that it will subsequently be able to provide more affordable sub-0.13 micron silicon chip processing on an earlier timescale than currently projected for alternative NGL developmental technologies.