Crossing Automation,
Inc., a leading supplier of efficient, cost-effective front-end and back-end
automation solutions and engineering services to high volume semiconductor equipment
manufacturers, today announced that its SpartanTM equipment front end module
(EFEM) has been selected by a leading manufacturer of lithography and metrology
equipment for its second-generation metrology tool.
The Spartan EFEM was selected because of Crossing’s ability to customize
the tool to meet the customer’s specific requirements, the ease of software
integration with its metrology platform as well as Crossing’s ability
to provide its ExpressSolutions™ engineering support to significantly
reduce time to market. The order represents a new customer win for Crossing
from a Tier-1 original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for its atmospheric wafer-handling
technology.
“This design win strongly validates the technical merits of the Spartan
as well as our commitment to OEMs through the service and support capability
we deliver with every tool,” said May Su, vice president of product marketing
for Crossing Automation. “Our ability to work with this customer to design
and deliver customized interfaces significantly facilitated integration with
its process and metrology modules, while the Spartan’s demonstrated performance
benefits met the stringent requirements of the broader lithography process.”
With the Spartan, Crossing is able to deliver complete EFEM solutions with
a simple, unified design that enables higher throughput, higher particle performance,
optimized cleanroom space and lower cost of ownership. A key feature that contributed
to the Spartan’s selection is its advanced passive backside contact (PBC)
end effector design, which eliminates particles from edge contacts and minimizes
backside particles through use of specialized polymer pads. The precision and
reliability of its Wafer Engine™ robot offers an additional competitive
advantage for the Spartan.
ABOUT CROSSING AUTOMATION:
Crossing Automation is a leading supplier of efficient, cost-effective front-end
and back-end automation solutions and engineering services to high volume semiconductor
equipment manufacturers. The company’s unique approach to automation solutions
enables its customers to shorten time to market, lower development costs and
reduce total costs. Through its front-end and back-end automation solutions,
Crossing achieves critical manufacturing flexibility for OEMs and IC manufacturers
alike.
Crossing’s End-to-End Automation Platforms
Crossing Automation’s ExpressConnectTM modular building block family
of automation components delivers integrated atmospheric and vacuum substrate
handling sub-systems with small footprints, low costs and high productivity
for semiconductor manufacturing. Crossing also delivers a broad range of leading-edge,
cost-effective 300 mm, 200 mm, and 150 mm component technologies to both OEMs
and semiconductor manufacturers including isolation, robotics, and tracking.
Crossing implements a system architecture that uses highly reliable linear transfer
devices and simplified control algorithms to improve efficiencies and control
reliability and is key to enabling a comprehensive, flexible, end-to-end automation
solution.