ORBOTECH LTD. today announced that SPTS Technologies, an Orbotech company and a supplier of advanced wafer processing solutions for the global semiconductor and related industries, has received an order, worth approximately US$16M, for multiple etch and deposition systems from WIN Semiconductors Corp. (WIN), a provider of pure play GaAs foundry services for the wireless infrastructure and networking markets. The systems will be used to make Heterojunction Bipolar Transistors (HBT) and Pseudomorphic High Electron Mobility Transistors (pHEMT) devices in WIN’s Fab C, their third and newest fab. The systems will ship in the second half of 2015.
“We are proud to have been a supplier to WIN since their inception in 1999,” said Kevin Crofton, president of SPTS and corporate vice president at Orbotech. “They recently announced their 1 millionth GaAs wafer shipment, and our systems have added value to every one of those wafers. Over those 16 years, our technology roadmaps have been shaped by leaders such as WIN, and this repeat order confirms that our etch and deposition solutions continue to deliver production advantages to our customers”
Steve Chen, Senior Vice President of WIN commented, “The GaAs device market is entering a phase of growth, driven by the increasing complexity of RF designs inside smartphones and the accompanying infrastructure. We are successful because we have the flexibility and technology bandwidth to react to the fast changing demands of a consumer driven market, and SPTS has the same mindset. Sixteen years ago, we selected SPTS to join us in the new world of GaAs foundry services, and today we own approximately 60 percent of the foundry market share and are opening our third fab. The support and commitment of SPTS has contributed to that success. I look forward to entering the next phase of growth with them.”
Virtually all power amplifiers in a modern smartphone are made from circuits built on GaAs semiconductors, and enable handsets to transmit voice and data back to the base station tower. Power amplifiers (PAs) are one of the most critical RF components and the leading smartphones contain up to 5 PAs. The increasing complexity in dealing with multiple RF bands from 2G up to 4G, and the uptake of more capable smartphones, are expected to support the market’s continued growth.