ESPOO, Finland, 3rd of February 2022 – Picosun Group and Shincron Co., Ltd. have joined forces for development and commercialization of Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) for optical coatings. ALD technology provides uniform and conformal coatings to the even most challenging structures and is therefore well suited for high-end optical applications.

The R&D teams from both companies have worked together to tailor existing ALD processes optimizing them for the use in optical applications. In addition to standard ALD optical films, ALD magnesium fluoride (MgF2) has been researched and is now available for commercial use for the first time. So far, ALD MgF2 processes have been only presented in academic research by universities and science institutes. MgF2 is a desired material in optical applications due to its low refractive index at visible light and high transmittance in FUV optical region. It can be used as a single layer or as part of an optical stack combining low and high refractive index materials. It has also other features, such as barrier properties and high chemical stability, which bring big advantages in some applications.

The collaboration agreement was first signed in 2019 including the appointment of Shincron as Picosun’s sales representative and ALD product distributor in Japan. The collaboration was extended with Joint Development Agreement (JDA) in 2020 with the aim to develop novel and advanced ALD coatings for optical applications.

“We are very excited about the collaboration. The teamwork has been fruitful, and the results obtained now are excellent. We see optical coatings as one of the emerging ALD applications and believe in strong growth in this market”, says Jussi Rautee, CEO of Picosun.

“We are happy to add ALD technology to our offering. This way we can increase our services for our customers. We have set up a demo capability for ALD optical coatings and Japanese optical companies have shown high interest for this process”, says Masaya Narita, CEO of Shincron.

Read more: picosun.com/optics/magnesiumfluoride

More information:
Jussi Rautee
CEO, Picosun Group
Tel: +358 50 345 4457
Email: [email protected]
www.picosun.com

Masaya Narita
CEO, Shincron Co., Ltd.
Tel: +81 45 650 2411
Email: [email protected]
www.shincron.co.jp/en/

About Picosun
Picosun provides the most advanced ALD (Atomic Layer Deposition) thin film coating solutions for global industries. Picosun’s ALD solutions enable technological leap into the future, with turn-key production processes and unmatched, pioneering expertise in the field – dating back to the invention of the technology itself. Today, PICOSUN® ALD equipment are in daily manufacturing use in numerous leading industries around the world. Picosun is based in Finland, with subsidiaries in Germany, USA, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, China mainland and Taiwan, offices in India and France, and a world-wide sales and support network. Visit www.picosun.com.

About Shincron
Shincron is a leading global supplier of innovative vacuum thin film deposition equipment. Visit www.shincron.co.jp/en/ for more information.

• Read more about Picosun and Shincron join forces for ALD optical coating development

Samco, a leading manufacturer of etching, deposition and surface treatment processing equipment for the semiconductor and related industries and academic facilities, is proud to introduce the new plasma etching cluster tool “Cluster H ™”.

“With our cutting-edge plasma etching technology, Cluster H™ provides the full-scale production capabilities for compound semiconductor devices such as high-frequency filters, SiC/GaN power devices, GaAs VCSELs, micro-OLED/LED, CMOS image sensors, and advanced packaging,” explains Tsukasa Kawabe, President and COO of Samco.

“We created Cluster H ™ to meet the strong demand from our valued customers for high throughput equipment. Cluster H™ with etching processes available only at Samco enables the combination of optimal materials and process technologies in advanced electronic device fabrication.” Continues Tsukasa.

■Features
Cluster H ™ is a cluster tool for etching and ashing that supports direct transfer of ø6” and ø8” diameter wafers. Centered on a hexagonal vacuum transfer platform, it is equipped with two vacuum cassette chambers and one vacuum aligner as part of the standard equipment configuration, and up to three process modules that can be attached. The ICP etching process module uses the reaction chamber of the high-end ICP etching model RIE-800iP and is backed by our extensive process library and best-known methods. In addition, the frog-leg dual-blade robot enables high wafer throughput, compact transfer chamber, and system footprint.
In addition, the revamped software incorporates useful functions with improved reliability. The standard system is equipped with a user-friendly GUI and equipment management functions such as equipment performance tracking, wafer transfer history for each module and packages, and simulation functions for higher-level communication, and supports the manufacturing execution system (MES) used at customers’ factories.

Samco announces the release of the production-worthy cluster tool, Cluster H ™. The system is ideally suited for high volume manufacturing leveraging our experience and expertise in manufacturing production-proven systems and our broad process know-how. With the advanced hardware and software features on the Cluster H ™, we are certain that it will contribute to the success in manufacturing of electronic devices for our valued customers. As a pioneer in thin film technology, Samco looks forward to continuing to provide cutting-edge solutions to the industry

About Samco Inc.
Samco Inc. (TSE: 6387) stands for Semiconductor And Materials Company, and is a leading manufacturer of processing equipment for the semiconductor and related industries founded by Mr. Osamu Tsuji in Kyoto, Japan in 1979. Over the past forty-three years, more than 4,300 Samco systems have been installed and used in 35 different countries. Its equipment and thin film technology are widely adopted in the fabrication of semiconductor devices, including high-frequency filters, SiC/GaN power devices, GaAs VCSELs, micro-OLED/LED, CMOS image sensors, MEMS, TSVs, advanced packaging, and so on. Learn more at https://www.samco.co.jp/en/

Company Contacts:
TSUCHIHASHI, Atsushi
Public Relations
Phone: 81-75-621-7841
E-mail: [email protected]

• Read more about Samco Unveils New Plasma Etching Cluster Tool for Compound Semiconductor Device Fabrication

ESPOO, Finland, 18th of January 2022 – Picosun takes part as an industrial partner in QuTI, a recently launched extensive research project aiming to develop new components, manufacturing and testing solutions that are needed in quantum technology. Quantum technology has gained interest in a vast array of industries on a large scale. The remarkable performance improvements it offers enable for example powerful computing and benefits in communications, healthcare, sensors, imaging and measurement applications.

The QuTI project is coordinated by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, and it has a total budget of around 10 million euros. Other industrial partners of the consortium include Bluefors, Afore, IQM, Rockley Photonics, CSC, Quantastica, Saab and Vexlum. The research partners are VTT, Aalto University and the University of Tampere.

“Quantum technology is a multidisciplinary and rapidly advancing field. The QuTI consortium provides an ideal starting point for strengthening the international competitiveness of Finnish technology and industry in this fast-growing field,” says QuTI project’s coordinator, Research Professor Mika Prunnila from VTT.

“Quantum technology has already taken the step from research laboratories to commercial applications. We look forward in supporting this development trend even further and being part of creating a globally competitive industrial ecosystem in Finland around this technology,” says Dr. Jani Kivioja, CTO of Picosun Group.

“Atomic Layer Deposition, or ALD, is the advanced thin film coating method for ultra-thin, highly uniform and conformal material layers that enables the digital solutions of today. It will also play a crucial role in future innovations and in the quantum computing, communication and sensing devices that will be developed in the QuTI project”, continues Jussi Rautee, CEO of Picosun Group.

More information:
Jani Kivioja
CTO, Picosun Group
Tel: +358 46 922 8804
Email: [email protected]
www.picosun.com

About Picosun
Picosun provides the most advanced ALD (Atomic Layer Deposition) thin film coating solutions for global industries. Picosun’s ALD solutions enable technological leap into the future, with turn-key production processes and unmatched, pioneering expertise in the field – dating back to the invention of the technology itself. Today, PICOSUN® ALD equipment are in daily manufacturing use in numerous leading industries around the world. Picosun is based in Finland, with subsidiaries in Germany, USA, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, China mainland and Taiwan, offices in India and France, and a world-wide sales and support network. Visit www.picosun.com.

• Read more about Picosun part of extensive quantum technology development project

YES (Yield Engineering Systems, Inc.), a leading manufacturer of process equipment for semiconductor advanced packaging, life sciences and “More-than-Moore” applications, today announced that Victor Huang has joined the company as its first Vice President of Legal Affairs.

Mr. Huang has served as both General Counsel for startups and Intellectual Property Counsel for some of the world’s leading technology firms, including eBay and Illumina, and has built and strategically managed patent portfolios in a variety of markets. While working to safeguard and expand YES’s intellectual property assets, he will also build the legal function and advise the company on licensing and joint development agreements, M&A activity, and a diverse range of corporate legal tasks and concerns including employment and compliance.

“Victor’s extensive experience in the strategic management of worldwide IP portfolios will be a great resource for YES as we continue our international expansion. We feel that his engineering background, coupled with his history of building scalable processes for business and legal operations in a fast-growing environment, make him an especially good fit for our team,” said Rezwan Lateef, President of YES.

Mr. Huang holds a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of California at Davis, and received his JD from the University of San Francisco School of Law. He has a particular interest in issues relating to open source programs, including compliance, product security, and community relations.

About YES
YES (Yield Engineering Systems, Inc.) is a preferred provider of high-tech, cost-effective equipment for transforming surfaces, materials, and interfaces. The company’s product lines include thermal processing systems, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) systems, plasma etching tools, and wet process equipment used for the precise surface modification of semiconductor substrates, semiconductor and MEMS devices, and biodevices. With YES, customers ranging from startups to Fortune 100 companies can create and volume-produce products in a wide range of markets, including Advanced Packaging, MEMS, Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality and Life Sciences. YES is headquartered in Fremont, California, with a growing global presence. For more information, please visit www.yieldengineering.com.

• Read more about Victor Huang Joins Yield Engineering Systems (YES) as VP of Legal Affairs

Wooptix SL, a Spanish company dedicated to developing advanced imaging solutions for the semiconductor industry, will be presenting a new technique for Patterned Wafer Geometry at the upcoming SPIE Advanced Lithography conference on February 28th, 2022, in a paper published together with Applied Materials. The flatness of the silicon wafer used to manufacture integrated circuits is controlled to tight tolerances to ensure the full wafer is sufficiently flat for lithographic processing. In recent years, a metrology tool based on double Fizeau interferometry has been used to generate wafer geometry maps to correct for process induced focus issues and overlay problems. In the upcoming paper, WFPI is used successfully on patterned silicon wafers to acquire 7.65 million data points in 5 seconds on the full 300mm patterned wafer with a lateral resolution of 96µm to generate the wafer shape.

About Wooptix
Based in La Laguna Tenerife, Canary Islands, Wooptix is founded on decades of optical research done at the astrophysics department at La Laguna University in conjunction with Teide Observatory in Tenerife, one of the world’s most important astronomy research centers. Wooptix, being a venture funded company and an Intel Capital portfolio company, has used the venture funds to develop Phemet and bring it to commercialization for semiconductor the lab market and is currently in the early stages of bringing the technique in to a fully automated fab tool.

• Read more about Wooptix introduces a patterned wafer geometry system for 300mm silicon wafers