February 10, 2011 – Marketwire — SPP Process Technology Systems (SPTS), plasma etch, deposition, and thermal processing equipment manufacturer for the micro-device industry, completed the acquisition of deep reactive ion etch (DRIE) technology and certain related assets from Tegal Corporation. In addition, the deal includes the transfer to SPTS of the capital stock and operations of Tegal France SAS, a wholly-owned Tegal subsidiary formed by Tegal’s acquisition of Alcatel Micro Machining Systems’ DRIE assets in September 2008.

SPTS’ acquisition will include the Tegal DRIE product line (including 200, 110, 3200, and 4200 series), along with the Compact and Pluto development assets, intellectual property (IP) and process know-how. SPTS will provide continued global support to existing Tegal DRIE customers, and will integrate these technologies into its SPTS’ broad range of product offerings in etch, deposition and thermal technologies. SPTS just days ago acquired the etch portfolio of Primaxx from its parent company.

"The sale of the Tegal DRIE assets to SPTS secures our technology, team members, active joint development projects in France, and ensures continuation of our commitments to customers globally," said Thomas Mika, president and CEO, Tegal Corporation. "This event represents another major step in Tegal’s transformation from semiconductor capital equipment supplier to its new role in providing green energy." Tegal recently announced participation in the formation of sequel Power, a company engaged in large scale photovoltaic (PV)-based solar utilities.

SPP Process Technology Systems was established in October 2009 as the vehicle for the merger of Surface Technology Systems and acquired assets of Aviza Technology. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Precision Products Co., Ltd., and designs, manufactures, sells, and supports advanced semiconductor capital equipment and process technologies for the global semiconductor industry and related markets. These products are used in a variety of market segments, including R&D, data storage, MEMS and nanotechnology, advanced 3-D packaging, LEDs, and power integrated circuits for communications. For more information about SPTS, please visit www.spp-pts.com.

Tegal is dedicated to the development and application of both proven and emerging technologies in the field of green energy. Tegal is engaged in the promotion of solar power plant development projects worldwide, the development of self-sustaining businesses from such projects, including supporting, developing, building and operating solar photovoltaic fabrication facilities and solar farms and other non-PV based renewable energy projects. Learn more at www.Tegal.com.

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February 9, 2011 – BUSINESS WIRE — Sand 9, Inc., is planning volume launch of its MEMS oscillator technology for wireless applications. The company appointed Skyworks EVP Greg Waters to their Board of Directors, using his experience in wireless communications to help Sand 9 manage the transition from development to volume production.

Sand 9 is introducing a temperature compensated MEMS oscillator (TCMO), a MEMS timing device that achieves the performance required for wireless applications such as 3G/4G cellular and GPS. "Sand 9’s breakthrough technology has the potential to be truly disruptive in the wireless communications market," said Waters.

Waters is executive vice president and general manager, front-end solutions, for Skyworks Solutions, Inc. He joined the company in April 2003. Prior to joining Skyworks, Waters served as senior vice president of strategy and business development at Agere Systems, and previously held positions there as vice president of the Wireless Communications business, and vice president of the Broadband Communications business.

Sand 9 is a venture funded company dedicated to the design of precision timing technology that will dramatically improve the capabilities of electronic devices. The company’s investors include Commonwealth Capital, Flybridge Capital Partners, General Catalyst and Khosla Ventures. For more information, visit www.sand9.com.

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February 7, 2011 — SPP Process Technology Systems (SPTS), plasma etch, deposition, and thermal processing equipment supplier for the semiconductor industry, completed the transfer of ownership of Primaxx Inc. from SPTS’ parent company, Sumitomo Precision Products (SPP) to SPTS in December 2010. The transfer strengthens SPTS’ etch technology portfolio that includes deep silicon etch, dielectric etch, inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etch, and now hydrogen fluoride (HF) vapor oxide etch. Primaxx provides residue-free micro electromechanical systems (MEMS) dry etch release products, and is based in Allentown, PA.

Primaxx’s patented HF vapor oxide etch technology uses a reduced pressure, gas phase, controlled anhydrous HF/alcohol process to deliver residue-free "etch release" to remove the sacrificial silicon oxide layers used in MEMS manufacturing. Using HF, the sacrificial layer is etched with high selectivity relative to the structural layer.

"Considering the complementary products and synergies that already exist within both companies, bringing the Primaxx range of products and services into the SPTS family expands our customer offerings. It allows SPTS to provide an expanded manufacturing portfolio to our MEMS customers," said William Johnson, president and CEO of SPTS. "In the long-term, SPTS will also explore opportunities to provide more integrated process schemes related to HF release technologies."
 
Paul Hammond, president and CEO of Primaxx echoed the sentiment that with the transfer of ownership, Primaxx customers now benefit from the expanded service, support and distribution infrastructure of SPTS — with one consolidated contact point. "Through our parent company, Primaxx has already been working closely with SPTS; the acquisition is a natural progression in the relationship that immediately augments Primaxx’s sales and marketing capabilities," said Hammond.
 
The Primaxx brand is planned to remain unchanged, while current process modules will eventually be consolidated with SPTS’ production-proven fxP wafer transport and control system. 

SPP Process Technology Systems (SPTS) is a manufacturer of plasma etch and deposition and thermal processing equipment for the semiconductor industry. Learn more at http://www.spp-pts.com/

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February 7, 2011 — Sandia National Laboratories will help Mexican engineering students learn to design microelectromechanical devices (MEMS), according to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Sandia and the University of Guadalajara.

10 Mexican professors and 3 Sandia researchers at a SUMMit design course for MEMS devices held at Sandia in December 2009. Ernest Garcia is third from right. (Photo courtesy of Universidad Autonoma de Ciudad Juarez)

The rationale for the agreement is that the economic well-being of Mexico is a national security issue for the United States, said Sandia project lead Ernest Garcia.

Sandia’s SUMMiT V fabrication process will permit students to design MEMS devices that employ five layers of silicon. Each layer adds another level of complexity to the design. SUMMiT V permits advanced systems created on moveable platforms to be taller (up to 12 micrometers high), stiffer, and more mechanically forceful and robust than those created by earlier processes.

"The University of Guadalajara is like the state of California’s higher education system," Garcia said. "It supports a number of universities throughout the Mexican state of Jalisco. Its leadership wants to use SUMMiT as the basis for a future graduate program in MEMS."

"MEMS manufacturing will leverage many of Mexico’s traditional strengths in electronic manufacturing," Herrera said. "Sandia is in a position to help the University of Guadalajara system migrate to a state-of-the-art MEMS design capability."

"If we could help Mexico improve its research and development capabilities, it would help stabilize its economy," he said. Garcia sees the new collaboration with the U. of Guadalajara as a long-term investment in the future of the Mexican economy. "It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon," Garcia said, mentioning potential barriers like U.S. controls on exporting technology and intellectual property (IP) to foreign countries.

A student in a clean room at the Universidad Autonoma de Ciudad Juarez, which has an ongoing arrangment with Sandia National Labs. Sandia’s MOU with the U. of Guadalajara will open MEMS education to more Mexican students. (Photo courtesy of Universidad Autonoma de Ciudad Juarez)

"Ultimately, the U.S. may be the biggest beneficiary if the MOU contributes to the vitality of the Mexican economy and thereby the stability of the U.S.-Mexican border," said Gil Herrera, director of Sandia’s Microsystems Science, Technology and Components Center. "We believe that Sandia will also benefit from the relationship, as we will have new minds challenging the design envelope of our SUMMiT MEMS technology." Herrera is in charge of Sandia’s activities in support of the collaboration.

Steve Rottler, Sandia’s vice president for basic technologies, signed the agreement for Sandia. He said, "The commitment and enthusiasm of the University of Guadalajara faculty and leadership will greatly help this collaboration to advance technologies vital to the economies and security of both countries."

Similar efforts by Sandia are also underway at Mexican universities in Juarez, Veracruz and Mexico City, as well as the Puebla-based National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics, and Electronics (INAOE).

The agreement extends earlier work by Sandia that played a role in creating a Bi-National Sustainability Laboratory at Santa Teresa, NM, near the border between the United States and Mexico. That effort was intended to examine problems on both sides of the border, such as water rights. The initial goal of the Sustainability Laboratory was to foster research efforts that could ultimately create border industries and jobs to staunch the one-way flow of workers from Mexico to the United States. That effort is now directed by an independent nonprofit corporation supported by a variety of national, state, and corporate sponsors.

The Guadalajara program is expected to expand an existing Sandia-led national MEMS project for Mexico. That country has spent $2 million to fund the project. "Last December, a number of Mexican professors took our MEMS course, licensed our design software, and purchased 100 silicon chips with their MEMS designs," Garcia said.

The Guadalajara agreement is different, Garcia said, because it (and Sandia efforts with other Mexican universities) are in the interior of Mexico rather than near the border.

"We hope eventually to have Mexican universities compete in Sandia’s University Alliance annual MEMS competition for the most imaginative or practical designs," Garcia said. The high-spirited contest, open to institutional members of the Sandia-led MEMS University Alliance program, provides an arena for student engineers to hone their skills in designing and using microdevices. Student contest winners get to see their designs become reality when they are fabricated at Sandia’s MEMS facilities.  Last year’s winners were Texas Tech and the University of Utah for creating, respectively, the world’s smallest chess set and a micro barber shop that serviced  a single human hair.

A delegation of Mexican professors from Guadalajara will visit Albuquerque in spring 2011 to confer with researchers at Sandia and possibly the University of New Mexico. The trips will be funded by state of Jalisco’s technology office. Albuquerque and Guadalajara are sister cities.

Sandia National Laboratories is a multiprogram laboratory operated and managed by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. With main facilities in Albuquerque, N.M., and Livermore, Calif., Sandia has major R&D responsibilities in national security, energy and environmental technologies, and economic competitiveness. Learn more at www.sandia.gov

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