Jul 20 2015
Global semiconductor capital equipment manufacturer OEM Group announced today it has developed a suite of integrated physical vapor deposition process solutions on the MRC® Eclipse™ system for MEMS, Sensors, and Internet of Things applications.
The new processes include the deposition of ceramic materials for gas and chemical sensors, aluminum oxide deposition for surface passivation of reflective materials, and the deposition of complex metal film stacks for liftoff applications. These new PVD processes benefit from and, particularly for liftoff, are enabled by the newly improved wafer temperature control techniques OEM Group has developed for the Eclipse.
Gas and chemical sensing are leading applications in the wave of MEMS devices now reaching commercialization. Professor Chih-Ting Lin, National Taiwan University, in his recent talk at SEMICON Taiwan, highlighted how IoT systems offer a value-up momentum for MEMS technologies and, in particular, how CMOS-MEMS chemical sensors specifically are an important emerging component that will be enriching IoT systems overall.
IDTechEx, the Cambridge, UK-based market research firm, forecasts that chemical sensors will grow to become the single largest slice of the wearable sensor pie by the year 2020, with an expected 32% CAGR over the period 2015 – 2025.
And Jérémie Bouchaud, director and senior principal analyst for MEMS and sensors at IHS Inc., has reported that the next killer applications for MEMS chips will be thermal cameras for low-light security photos; micro-speakers; and gas sensors, for applications ranging from breath analysis in health monitoring to air pollution monitors reporting timely data for making quality-of-life decisions on an individual or on a collective basis.
Mark McNicholas, Senior Product Applications Specialist, OEM Group, observes that "The MRC Eclipse has been a mainstay of semiconductor fabs worldwide for over 30 years. With the novel techniques and approaches OEM Group has developed for the Eclipse, innovative new PVD processes applicable to the MEMS, Sensors, and Internet of Things markets are available to customers who also want to avail themselves of the low cost of ownership advantages enabled by the market leading MRC Eclipse.
About MRC® Eclipse™ PVD Systems
MRC Eclipse Star, Mark II and Mark IV physical vapor deposition (PVD) systems are manufactured exclusively by OEM Group, Inc. Leveraging state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, OEM Group offers both new and remanufactured systems, retrofits, upgrades, OEM-direct spare parts and field service. MRC Eclipse systems include 100mm to 200mm wafer size capability for front or backside metallization, offer high throughputs, and maintain low particle levels as a result of their vertical sputtering configuration. Please visit http://www.oemgroupinc.com/mrc_eclipse.php for more information about OEM Group's MRC Eclipse products.
OEM Group at SEMICON West 2015
Please join us at Semicon West 2015, July 14 - 16, in the South Hall, Booth 411, where we look forward to seeing customers new and old at our booth, and where we will discuss how OEM Group enables new markets and emerging technologies with our focused portfolio of proven 200mm process applications and equipment targeting the Internet of Things, and related markets.
About OEM Group, Inc.
OEM Group is a global manufacturer of new and remanufactured semiconductor capital equipment and upgrades focused on innovative and sustaining solutions for emerging markets. Our proven LEGENDS™ portfolio consists of exclusive intellectual property acquired from leading semiconductor brands, including: P5000™, Tegal™ Etch, Sputtered Films® Endeavor™, MRC® Eclipse™, AGHeatpulse®, Varian® Sunset™, Lam® AutoEtch™ and SEMITOOL® Manual Batch, Automated Batch and Single Wafer Equinox™. In addition to the LEGENDS™ lines, OEM offers an Applications Development lab for wet processing and Foundry services for piezoelectric AlN films. For more information, please visit us at www.oemgroupinc.com.