March 14, 2011 – BUSINESS WIRE — Plasma-Therm LLC, plasma etch and deposition equipment supplier, secured majority shareholder status of Advanced Vacuum, a vacuum and thin film equipment provider headquartered in Sweden. Both operations have partnered to create a strategic alliance with complementary etch and deposition systems that support the needs of R&D through production environments.

The partnership aims to expand an established sales and service network and enable additional resource allocation to Advanced Vacuum’s product development thanks to additional support and funding through Plasma-Therm. Both companies plan to extend their market reach in the areas of dedicated R&D systems, failure analysis and non-clustered platforms.

"With this transaction we anticipate expansion into applications that will leverage Advanced Vacuum’s capabilities for custom vacuum equipment design and fabrication…and their expertise in control system upgrades," said Abdul Lateef, CEO at Plasma-Therm.

Advanced Vacuum provides a focused portfolio of services and products for the vacuum and thin film technology industries. Offerings include vacuum and electronics control systems and open load plasma etch and deposition systems. Advanced Vacuum is also a key principal OEM equipment supplier for northern Europe through representation of Edwards Vacuum, Advanced Energy and Entegris. To learn more about Advanced Vacuum, visit their website at www.advanced-vacuum.se.

Plasma-Therm is a supplier of advanced plasma process equipment offering etch and deposition technologies. Plasma-Therm systems support various specialty markets including solid state lighting, thin film head, MEMS, photomask and compound semiconductor. To learn more about Plasma-Therm, visit www.plasmatherm.com.

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