MEDFORD, Ore. – May 1, 2024 – Rogue Valley Microdevices, an Oregon-based advanced manufacturing company specializing in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), today announced that its new fab, currently under construction on the “Space Coast” of Florida will be 300mm capable. The company is the first pure-play MEMS foundry to announce 300mm capability for its customers, many of whom are innovators looking to transition from lab to fab with custom development requirements.

A MEMS foundry that can handle 300mm wafers benefits customers who require post-CMOS processing since much of the world’s CMOS foundry capacity has already transitioned to 300mm wafer processing. In addition, pure-play MEMS microfabrication delivers economies of scale which can open markets and improve margins.

Jessica Gomez, founder and CEO of Rogue Valley Microdevices, is presenting this week at the MEMS & Sensors Technical Congress on the topic of “Microneedle Technology: Advancing Transdermal Drug Delivery and Biosensing.” In her presentation, she’ll explain how MEMS devices like microneedles are used in the healthcare industry for drug delivery and sensing applications such as continuous glucose monitoring patches for diabetics, along with emerging applications such as vaccine delivery and skin cancer treatment. When microneedle companies, and other makers of disposable bioMEMS can build their devices on 300mm wafers, they gain the economies of scale presented by larger substrates, resulting in higher margins and potential entry into new markets. These benefits apply to industries far beyond biomedical devices, and include applications in automotive, agricultural, and industrial markets.

“We take immense pride in working with our customers as true partners in MEMS manufacturing,” says Gomez. “With Rogue Valley Microdevices’ investment in 300mm MEMS capability at our new Palm Bay, Florida fab, we’re poised to empower our customers with significant competitive advantages, facilitating their journey from initial concept to the successful commercialization of their MEMS and sensor designs.”

Rogue Valley Microdevices’ new 50,000-square-foot microfabrication facility is located at 2301 Commerce Park Drive in Palm Bay, Florida, and the company welcomes the high level of community support it has received from many partners including the State of Florida, city of Palm Bay, and the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast. It is anticipated that the company’s second pure-play MEMS fab will create 75 new high-tech jobs in Florida and initial production of its first MEMS devices is slated for 2025.

About Rogue Valley Microdevices
Rogue Valley Microdevices is a full-service precision MEMS foundry that combines state-of-the-art process modules with the engineering expertise to go seamlessly from custom design to manufacturing. Specializing in MEMS and sensors manufacturing—including microfluidics and lab-on-chip platforms—Rogue Valley Microdevices offers a flexible equipment set and the ability for customers to start with smaller batch sizes, serving a key function in the commercial MEMS manufacturing ecosystem.
Rogue Valley Microdevices also maintains the broadest and most comprehensive set of wafer services commercially available—with over 50 unique dielectric and conductive thin films and all services performed in its own class 100 cleanroom. For more information, email: [email protected], visit: https://roguevalleymicrodevices.com, and follow us on LinkedIn.

Rogue Valley Microdevices and the Rogue Valley Microdevices logo are registered trademarks of Rogue Valley Microdevices, Inc. All other product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

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HATFIELD, Pa. (USA), APRIL 18, 2024 — Brooks Instrument, a world leader in advanced flow measurement and control, has acquired Creative Machining Technology of Corona, California. The acquisition took place April 1, 2024, under Illinois Tool Works (ITW), Brooks Instrument’s parent company.

Creative Machining Technology (CMT) provides a variety of machining and manufacturing services, ranging from individual part production through end-item manufacturing, kitting and assembly.

The company has long been a key supplier to Brooks Instrument, with core competencies rooted in high-precision CNC machining. CMT has proven expertise manufacturing and polishing ultrahigh-purity components with extremely tight tolerances for demanding applications, including semiconductor manufacturing.

“By integrating Creative Machining Technology into Brooks Instrument, we are enhancing our in-house expertise for critical machined components and machining capabilities, which adds to our supply chain assurance for producing ultrahigh-purity instruments,” said Brent Best, Vice President and General Manager — Brooks Instrument Semiconductor Division, an ITW Company. “In addition, we’ve increased our capabilities for quick-turn customer R&D requests to create more innovative flow measurement and control solutions.”

CMT has extensive experience manufacturing to tolerances as tight as 0.0001". This proficiency and CMT’s manufacturing facilities will enable Brooks Instrument to more quickly and effectively design and produce complex wetted flow path components for the company’s industry-leading mass flow controllers (MFCs). MFCs are the most important element in the gas delivery systems used for semiconductor manufacturing. In addition, CMT has both Class 1,000 and Class 10,000 clean rooms for processing and handling extremely delicate electronic components that require a controlled environment.

“This acquisition is part of our strategic approach to grow our business and position us for long-term success in the semiconductor market as we ramp up to meet anticipated growth in this segment,” said Best. “Moving forward, we are excited to have CMT join Brooks Instrument as we focus on continuous improvement, growing our technology offerings and meeting our customers’ needs.”

The CMT acquisition is the latest in Brooks Instrument’s initiatives to serve the semiconductor industry. Earlier this year the company launched a new GF120xHT Series mass flow controller for high-temperature environments, while last year opened a new manufacturing site in Malaysia to expand production and partnership opportunities with key customers in the Asia-Pacific region.

For more information about Brooks Instrument’s full range of capabilities for the semiconductor industry, visit www.brooksinstrument.com/en/markets/semiconductor-manufacturing.

About Brooks Instrument
Since 1946, Brooks Instrument has been a leader in precision fluid measurement and control technology. Providing instrumentation for flow, pressure and vapor delivery, the company serves customers in semiconductor and high-tech manufacturing, laboratories and other processes and industries. With manufacturing, sales and service locations in the Americas, Europe and Asia, Brooks Instrument has the world’s largest installed base of mass flow controllers.

For more information, please visit www.BrooksInstrument.com. The company is also on LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/company/Brooks-Instrument) and YouTube (www.youtube.com/user/Brooks407).

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Kitchener, Ontario, April 2, 2024 – The SEMI North America Information and Control Committee (I&CC) has announced that Albert Fuchigami, a Senior Standards Specialist at PEER Group®, has been confirmed as a Technical Committee co-chair during its recently held spring meeting.

As an I&CC co-chair, Fuchigami will help coordinate the various SEMI task forces responsible for the development and maintenance of communication and control SEMI Standards used to automate the semiconductor manufacturing process. Fuchigami will also play an important role in facilitating collaboration between the regional technical committees while providing mentorship and guidance on navigating SEMI rules and regulations.

“I greatly appreciate the support from committee members to confirm me as co-chair,” says Fuchigami. “SEMI I&C Standards are essential to satisfy our industry’s ever growing demands for big data, smart manufacturing, and automation in an efficient and scalable manner. I look forward to helping move their development further in this role.”

Fuchigami is heavily involved in the SEMI Standards Program in North America, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and China. He co-leads the SEMI North America Data Diagnostic Acquisition (DDA) Task Force, has authored various SEMI articles and tech briefs, and regularly shares his knowledge and expertise at industry conferences and events.

In recognition of his contributions to the international SEMI Standards program, Fuchigami was awarded the North American SEMI International Standards Leadership Award in 2022 and the Japan Information and Control Technical Committee Award in 2021.

About PEER Group
PEER Group® is the largest supplier of innovative factory automation software products for the semiconductor industry. Since 1992, our solutions have helped the world’s most advanced OEMs and factories reduce time to market and lower costs by solving their equipment automation, data management, and process control problems. An award-winning company, PEER Group’s commitment to quality has been recognized by Intel’s EPIC Supplier Program, naming PEER Group a Distinguished Supplier in 2024. Follow PEER Group on LinkedIn.

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Kitchener, Ontario, March 28, 2024 – PEER Group® is proud to announce that it has earned Intel’s EPIC Distinguished Supplier Award. Through its dedication to Excellence, Partnership, Inclusion, and Continuous (EPIC) quality improvement, PEER Group has achieved a level of performance that consistently exceeds Intel’s expectations.

“As one of the 27 Distinguished Supplier Award recipients in 2024, PEER Group stands out among suppliers in Intel’s trusted supply chain,” said Keyvan Esfarjani, chief global operations officer at Intel. “Through their relentless drive to improve, they have achieved a level of performance that consistently exceeds Intel’s expectations and serves as a benchmark across the ecosystem.”

The Intel EPIC Distinguished Supplier Award recognizes a consistent level of strong performance across all performance criteria. Of the thousands of Intel suppliers around the world, only a few hundred qualify to participate in the EPIC Supplier Program. The EPIC Distinguished Award is the second-highest honor a supplier can achieve. In 2024, only 27 suppliers in the Intel supply chain network earned this award.

To qualify for an Intel EPIC Distinguished Supplier Award, suppliers must exceed expectations, meet aggressive performance goals, and score 80 percent or higher in performance assessments throughout the year. Suppliers must also meet 80 percent or more of their improvement plan deliverables and demonstrate formidable quality and business systems.

About PEER Group
PEER Group® is the largest supplier of innovative factory automation software products for the semiconductor industry. Since 1992, our solutions have helped the world’s most advanced OEMs and factories reduce time to market and lower costs by solving their equipment automation, data management, and process control problems. An award-winning company, PEER Group’s commitment to quality has been recognized by Intel’s EPIC Supplier Program, naming PEER Group a Distinguished Supplier in 2024. Follow PEER Group on LinkedIn.

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Brooks Instrument, a world leader in advanced flow measurement and control, has released its new GF120xHT Series high-temperature thermal mass flow controller. This is the company’s first high-temperature mass flow controller in the GF family and is specifically designed to support solid and liquid precursors required in semiconductor manufacturing.

Mass flow controllers (MFCs) are the most important component in the gas delivery systems used to produce an integrated circuit. The GF120xHT Series MFC flow module can operate between 45°C and 150°C. In comparison, traditional thermal MFCs can only operate up to 50°C. By offering a greater operating range than conventional thermal MFCs, the GF120xHT Series can precisely deliver vapor to the process chamber, even when that material is a liquid or a solid at room temperature.

The GF120xHT is unique in its capability to support upgrades from Brooks Instrument’s legacy heated 9861 and VC4900 MFC series. With ultrafast EtherCAT® communication, programmable alarms and warnings developed specifically for advanced process control, and fault detection and classification (FDC) tracking, it’s also an optimum choice for next-generation platforms.

“Our high-temperature GF120xHT MFC will solve customer pain points by delivering precursors for critical processes, such as selective atomic layer deposition (ALD), in advanced logic and memory applications,” said Dr. Mohamed Saleem, chief technology officer, semiconductor platform, at ITW, the parent company of Brooks Instrument. “The GF120xHT will deliver these critical precursors reliably, accurately and without particle contamination.”

The new MFC features a variety of user-friendly qualities that support advancements in semiconductor manufacturing, including:

High-Temperature Capabilities: In a typical thermal MFC, the mechanical components can be heated to high temperatures, but the electronic components cannot. To support high-temperature applications, the electronics are remotely connected to the mechanical flow module of the GF120xHT Series. The flow module can operate at temperatures up to 150°C, while the remote electronics are mounted in a cooler location (About Brooks Instrument
Since 1946, Brooks Instrument has been a leader in precision fluid measurement and control technology. Providing instrumentation for flow, pressure and vapor delivery, the company serves customers in semiconductor and high-tech manufacturing, laboratories and other processes and industries. With manufacturing, sales and service locations in the Americas, Europe and Asia, Brooks Instrument has the world’s largest installed base of mass flow controllers.

For more information, please visit www.BrooksInstrument.com. The company is also on LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/company/Brooks-Instrument) and YouTube (www.youtube.com/user/Brooks407).

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