BILTHOVEN, The Netherlands, Jan. 16, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- ASM International N.V. (Nasdaq:ASMI) (Euronext Stock Exchange in Amsterdam:ASM) today announced that its subsidiary, ASM Europe B.V. shipped and installed its first A412(TM) 300mm vertical furnace for SOI SIMOX wafer anneal. The installation of the system at a customer's site has been completed and the first series of runs have proven excellent results.
ASM already maintains an established position in the field of high temperature processing. In addition to the bonded SOI, ASM now offers its customers a solution for the SIMOX application. SIMOX wafers are silicon-on-insulator wafers that are formed by implanting oxygen ions into silicon wafers and subsequently exposing them to very high temperature annealing. The SIMOX wafer market is a growing market that is targeted to upcoming technology nodes.
The A412 furnace for SIMOX anneal is specially designed to be operational at temperatures as high as 1400 degrees Celsius. ASM performed the first test runs successfully at its production facility prior to shipment and the results confirmed the tool's excellent process performance.
Dr. Albert Hasper, worldwide product manager of Vertical Furnaces at ASM, said: "This is an important milestone for ASM. We can now offer solutions to our customers for both bonded SOI and SIMOX wafer anneal. Control of slip presents a real challenge for processing at temperatures above 1100 degrees Celsius. We acknowledge the fact that the very first runs in our A412 furnace at temperatures above 1300 degrees Celsius have resulted in excellent process performance, and we view this as a reward for ASM's continuous investment in innovation and expertise in customer applications. We are poised and eagerly anticipating the coming SOI market."
ASM is a leader in 300mm vertical furnace equipment and has been manufacturing and selling furnaces for oxidation, diffusion and LPCVD processes since 1968. The company's A412 furnace, a member of The Advance(R) 400 Series family of vertical furnaces, has been well accepted by the market. The unique concept of two reactors above a rotating carousel, the capability to process 200mm and 300mm wafer sizes concurrently, on-board integrated metrology, and many other advanced features make the A412 the most flexible, productive and advanced 300mm vertical furnace on the market. By adding the SIMOX anneal to its portfolio of applications, ASM can now offer its customers solutions for the full range of high temperature furnace applications.