ClassOne Technology, the wet-chemistry semiconductor equipment manufacturer, has announced the acquisition of two complete product lines from Microprocess Technologies. Included in the acquisition are the Microprocess Spin Rinse Dryer (SRD) and Spray Solvent Tool (SST) families — which have become ClassOne’s Trident SRD and SST lines. The news was jointly announced by Byron Exarcos, President of ClassOne, and Charles Brown, President of Microprocess Technologies.
“This acquisition is a natural fit for us, “ said Byron Exarcos. “ClassOne’s fundamental mission is to provide higher performance wet processing equipment at lower cost to the user, just as we’ve done with our Solstice electroplating tools — and that’s exactly what the new Trident SRDs and SSTs deliver.”
“It’s a win-win for us and for the industry,” said Charles Brown. “ClassOne will continue development and enhancement of the products, and they also will be able to make the tools available to a broader worldwide market.
“This acquisition is the culmination of a relationship that’s been in progress for some time with Microprocess Technologies,” said ClassOne CFO Richard Dotson. “Months ago we began with an exclusive sales agreement for the SRD and SST products, and now ClassOne has secured full ownership of both lines. The manufacturing will be moving to our Kalispell facility where ClassOne’s wet processing experience and ongoing product engineering will make these outstanding products even more advanced in the future.”
“ClassOne has been actively seeking opportunities to expand its offerings in high-growth segments of the industry,” said Exarcos. “Some of the emerging technologies such as MEMS, LEDs, power devices and RF are estimated to be growing at double-digit annual rates.” He explained that in many of those fabs the Spray Solvent Tool is becoming an essential process-of-record tool for metal lift-off, resist strip and more. “In those scenarios Trident tools are being seen as attractive solutions,” said Exarcos, “because they’re able to handle a range of advanced processes at a cost substantially lower than competitive systems.”
Exarcos explained that many of the Trident performance advantages are the result of innovative and elegant design features, such as wrap-around heating to enhance drying, a Deluge spray manifold to improve rinsing and reduce particles, and ClassOne’s powerful new Solaris system controller.