memsstar Limited, a provider of etch and deposition equipment and technology solutions to manufacturers of semiconductors and micro-electrical mechanical systems (MEMS), announced two etch system order wins from new MEMS customers in Asia. memsstar recently shipped its memsstar R&D system to manufacturing customers in Korea and India for use in MEMS research and development, representing the first memsstar etch release system orders from these countries.
The R&D tool was selected by both customers for vapor phase isotropic etching of silicon for MEMS structures to support their new product development efforts. In addition to being suited to R&D applications, all memsstar’s processes are scalable for volume manufacturing using the same processing techniques, offering a process transfer and lower cost of ownership from R&D through to full scale production.
“Our proprietary memsstar systems are aggressively positioned for growth, delivering critical technological differentiators to customers engaged in MEMS etch release and surface coatings,” said Tony McKie, general manager of memsstar, Ltd. memsstar’s patented process is compatible with a wide range of metals — especially Al/alloy and other metals commonly used in MEMS mirrors and electrical contacts, while the single wafer processing platform offers excellent release etch repeatability with a wide process window to maximize performance and yield. memsstar¹s dry release etch process using hydrogen fluoride (HF), or xenon difluoride (XeF2), is unique because of its ability to eliminate stiction in a single process.