Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment accelerates market momentum in Asia

SAN FRANCISCO, USA & SHANGHAI, CHINA: Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment Inc., has (AMEC) revealed a series of milestones that document its rising market momentum across Asia.

Since its debut at SEMICON Japan 2007, the company has positioned its advanced dielectric etch tools at five tier-one customer fabs in three Asia regions. The installations include repeat orders for the Primo D-RIE(TM) tool which is being used by customers in production at nodes of 65 nm and 45 nm, and below. New tools are on order and slated for shipment throughout the remainder of the year.

More recently, the system's fundamental productivity, reliability and cost of ownership advantages have drawn the attention of packaging vendors seeking a high-end yet cost-efficient etch solution for emerging thru-silicon via (TSV) applications. AMEC intends to leverage its technology in this space and is already working with packaging customers in China.

Given the momentum, and to further exploit the supply-chain cost efficiencies that enable the company to provide best-in-class, low CoO solutions, AMEC will expand its manufacturing capacity beyond its Chinese facilities into other Asia locations.

The announcement coincides with this week's SEMICON West tradeshow in San Francisco, the world's premier gathering of semiconductor equipment technology executives. This year's show is upbeat, with industry trade association, SEMI, recently forecasting that fab spending for 2010 is expected to approach over $36 Billion, which represents year-over-year growth of about 117 percent. This figure includes the construction and equipping of front-end facilities.

The upside trends favor AMEC's rising momentum in the Asia market. The company's traction validates the strength of its core etch technology and highlights the appeal of an Asia-based supplier to Asia-based semiconductor companies. More importantly, it provides clear evidence that industry leaders are relentlessly seeking high-end tools that exceed technical and performance expectations for very advanced processing, but come with an affordable price tag.

For these leaders, commanding healthy margins as they migrate into the 22-nm processing realm means teaming with supplier partners who understand their technical and economic priorities. AMEC's technology and product roadmap is in sync with this migration and the company continues to refine its offering with technical and productivity enhancements to provide the optimum economic solution for customers at these leading-edge nodes.

"AMEC is greeting the upturn with a pragmatic but diversified technology and market strategy," said CEO, Dr. Gerald Z. Yin. "In the last two years, we've stayed on course, in spite of challenging industry conditions and a global economic downturn.

"We surpassed key milestones which included successfully positioning our Primo D-RIE tool at key customer sites and closing a $46 million Series D funding round in March this year. Since our inception in 2004, we have raised more than $150 million from venture capital sources. We appreciate our customers' confidence in our technology and their partnership as we worked to refine our product. We're looking forward to further expanding our installed base and market footprint."