Mega Fluid Systems Inc., a supplier of chemical and slurry delivery equipment, and Entrepix Inc., a provider of chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) equipment and process services, today announced a partnership agreement. The combined expertise of both teams has already led to the development of a complete CMP solution for a 200mm fab upgrade project. Mega Fluid Systems designed and built the slurry delivery systems, while Entrepix remanufactured the CMP polish and clean equipment and developed the CMP processes to meet the customer’s requirements.
“Leveraging the unique capabilities and expertise of each of our organizations allowed us to provide the customer a truly customized solution,” said Delton Hyatt, President of Mega Fluid Systems. “This approach will simplify and reduce the technology transfer time, which is essential for optimizing manufacturing operations and reducing cost of ownership.”
The equipment set was designed to efficiently enable a new technology transfer process for the customer. By developing and shipping the slurry blend/delivery, CMP polishing, and post-CMP cleaning equipment set along with proven process recipes optimized for the customer’s devices, the companies were able to deliver a highly flexible and reliable solution that will shorten the time to qualify the new process flow. This also ensures that the customer will benefit immediately from many years of established expertise with no “learning curve” delays.
“It’s not commonplace for semiconductor supplier companies to work together at such an in-depth level, taking the lead to define and provide a complete solution,” said Tim Tobin, CEO of Entrepix. “However, our companies have known each other for many years and as such are able to act as a single entity that provides the customer both CMP delivery systems and equipment.”
The two companies are also expanding local operations, adding additional service and engineering staff to support system installation, maintenance and operation as well as ongoing process support. This solution has proven highly desirable to the market and other similar agreements are underway.