memsstar sells first memsstar systems in Korea and India

SCOTLAND: memsstar Ltd announced two strategic etch system order wins from new MEMS customers in Asia. memsstar recently shipped its memsstar R&D system to manufacturing customers in Korea and India for use in MEMS research and development, representing the first memsstar etch release system orders from these countries.

The R&D tool was selected by both customers for vapor phase isotropic etching of silicon for MEMS structures to support their new product development efforts. In addition to being ideally suited to R&D applications, all memsstar¹s processes are scalable for volume manufacturing using the same processing techniques, offering a seamless process transfer and lower cost of ownership from R&D through to full scale production.

"Our proprietary memsstar systems are aggressively positioned for growth, delivering critical technological differentiators to customers engaged in MEMS etch release and surface coatings," said Tony McKie, GM of memsstar. "Our advanced process capability is key to minimizing process limitations, in turn driving the next generation of structures for our customers. These new orders mark our entry into two important MEMS markets in Asia and reflect our ability to deliver and support our technology around the world."

memsstar's patented process is compatible with the widest wide range of metals ­ especially Al/alloy and other metals commonly used in MEMS mirrors and electrical contacts, while the single wafer processing platform guarantees excellent release etch repeatability with a wide process window to maximize performance and yield. memsstar¹s dry release etch process using hydrogen fluoride (HF), or xenon difluoride (XeF2),is unique because of its ability to eliminate stiction in a single process.

memsstar processes are stable with excellent repeatability, tunable etch rates, high uniformity and selectivity. Coupled with the system¹s unique endpoint capability and thermal control of the wafer during the sacrificial etch process, memsstar systems ensure that each wafer receives the same etch process across a wide process window. The combination of these features allows customers to achieve high yield, highly repeatable processing to drive down manufacturing costs.