Tegal Corporation (Nasdaq:TGAL), a leading designer and manufacturer of DRIE, plasma etch, and deposition systems used in the production of MEMS, power semiconductor, and optoelectronic devices, announced today that the Company received an order for a Tegal DRIE 3200 multi-module cluster tool from a high volume manufacturer of MEMS sensors. The Tegal DRIE 3200 tool will ship in the second quarter of CY2009, and will be used by Tegal's customer to immediately expand MEMS sensor HVM production capabilities, and to bring important new sensor products on-line later in CY2009.
“This is an important win for Tegal Corporation and for our DRIE 3200 Advanced ICP System, confirming as it does both Tegal’s DRIE technical leadership and Tegal’s added value providing customers with reliable, production-worthy DRIE tools and superior post-sales customer support,” said Peter Dijkstra, Vice President of Global Sales, Tegal Corporation. “Our customer chose Tegal after a head-to-head competition weighing silicon DRIE process results and industry references regarding equipment supplier reputations for customer support and service. Our customer concluded Tegal’s value proposition for DRIE cluster tool systems is second to none in the industry, and we are pleased to have been chosen for this silicon DRIE tool order as a result.”
MEMS sensor manufacturing is expected to demonstrate continued growth in the near-term, as MEMS sensors become more and more embedded in smartphone, consumer electronic, medical diagnostic, and automotive applications. Silicon DRIE processing is at the heart of MEMS sensor manufacturing, and is also becoming an increasingly important process application for modern power device fabrication.
Tegal’s DRIE 3200 cluster tool system is a high-density plasma etch tool featuring an inductively coupled plasma etch reactor and magnetic plasma confinement. The tool can run Tegal’s patented SHARP – Super High Aspect Ratio Process, achieving etched feature aspect ratios of >100:1 in production environments. Together with its high reliability, broad process window, and high etch rates, the Tegal DRIE 3200 system is a critical enabler for etching the Silicon and SOI substrates found in the MEMS/MOEMS, Power Device, photovoltaic, bio-tech, and hi-voltage markets.