January 13, 2011 – BUSINESS WIRE — Tegal Corporation (NASDAQ:TGAL), specialized equipment maker for the fabrication of advanced MEMS, power ICs and optoelectronic devices, received an order from the Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems in Duisburg, Germany for a Tegal 200 SE DRIE system equipped with the new Tegal ProNova2 reactor.
The Tegal 200 SE DRIE system will be shipped and installed at the customer’s site in early CY2011, and will support Fraunhofer IMS’ mission to develop and produce microelectronic system solutions by combining mixed-signal ICs and integrated microsystems (MEMS) devices built using a state-of-the-art equipment set and "more than Moore" thinking.
The Tegal 200 SE silicon DRIE system order from this first-time Tegal DRIE customer is the result of a thorough competitive evaluation Fraunhofer IMS performed on a broad range of silicon DRIE tools and tool suppliers.
"The capabilities of the Tegal 200 SE are convincing for us due to the Tegal system’s demonstrated high deep silicon etch performance and high process flexibility, including oxide and isotropic silicon etch. We believe that this equipment excellently meets our needs for advanced MEMS development," said Dr. Andreas Goehlich from the Fraunhofer IMS.
"Fraunhofer IMS is well-known for technological leadership in integrated microsystems, and we are very pleased to have received this important silicon DRIE tool order," said Jim Apffel, DRIE product manager at Tegal Corporation, adding that the ProNova2 DRIE process module an advanced silicon DRIE process module for 200mm applications and the Tegal 200 SE is the best-adapted DRIE solution for 3D-IC and MEMS volume manufacturing.
The Tegal 200 SE is designed to achieve high throughput with low cost of ownership in production applications, thanks to the combination of extended time between cleaning, minimal wafer edge exclusion, high silicon etch rates, excellent process stability and highly uniform etching.
The Tegal ProNova2 reactor is targeted for fast-growing 200mm MEMS and 3D IC applications. It was built to out-perform comparative tools’ etch rates and increase DRIE productivity and yields. In addition to sustained high etch rates, the new ProNova2 reactor offers a three-fold improvement in ion uniformity over standard ICP sources. For some applications, the higher ion uniformity enables a more than 40% improvement in etch selectivity.
Fraunhofer IMS in Duisburg covers the broad spectrum of industrial and automotive microelectronics. In addition, new solutions in the sector of Health & Senior Care are being tested and developed further in the Fraunhofer-inHaus-Center. As a member of the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, Fraunhofer IMS carries out research, development and pilot fabrication of microelectronic solutions for industrial and public clients.
Tegal is an innovator of specialized production solutions for the fabrication of advanced MEMS, power ICs and optoelectronic devices. Tegal silicon DRIE tools are used in numerous research and development laboratories throughout the world, engaging in both commercial and academic research programs, and are also found in MEMS foundries and other dedicated commercial High Volume Manufacturing lines worldwide. Learn more at www.tegal.com.
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