April 12, 2001 – Beverly, MA – Axcelis Technologies has introduced a next-generation control system that, according to the company, allows greater productivity and throughput for new and installed ion implanters.

The system is targeted for use in high-volume fabs, with software that is specifically designed to meet the automation and productivity needs of semiconductor manufacturing lines.

“With this new control system software, our implanters can run more than one application during a production run, a key feature that delivers high utilization in our entire implant product family,” Mike Luttati, senior VP and general manager, ion implantation and rapid thermal processing group of Axcelis, said in a recent release. “At the same time, the control system gives operators more access to implant process data. These features translate to a more robust and reliable link with a fab’s manufacturing execution system and ultimately return the highest possible wafer throughput for our customers.”

Axcelis has based the implant control system on Sun Microsystems Solaris operation environment, and it is compatible, according to the company, with third-party high-speed SECS messaging systems (HSMS). Axcelis contends that this allows improved tool-to-fab communications and increased implant process data collection.

The implant control system will begin shipping this month.