Tegal Receives Order for Deep Silicon Etch Cluster Tool

Petaluma, CA -- Tegal Corp., a leading designer and manufacturer of plasma etch and deposition systems used in the production of integrated circuits, MEMS, and nanotechnology devices, announced that the company received an order for a Tegal 4200SE Advanced Multichamber ICP plasma etching system for deep reactive ion etching applications in power device and MEMS sensor fabrication.

"Tegal is pleased to receive this important order for our new 4200SE Advanced ICP Plasma Etching System," said Thomas Mika, President and CEO, Tegal Corp. "The fact that our customer has made the choice for Tegal, knowing our customer's strong reputation for successfully working in power management and MEMS sensor commercial fabrication for many years, validates Tegal's recent strategic decision to move forward in the DRIE tool market. When customers make DRIE tool purchasing decisions, weighing both DRIE technology leadership and the equipment supplier's reputation for customer support and service, we think Tegal's value proposition for single chamber and for cluster tool DRIE systems is second to none in the industry."

The Tegal 4200SE 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 4200SE system is a critical enabler for etching the silicon and SOI substrates found in the power device, MEMS/MOEMS, photovoltaic, bio-tech, and hi-voltage markets.

The market for MEMS sensors is expected to experience significant overall growth in the next several years. According to the market research firm iSuppli, in their presentation at the MEMS Executive Congress 2008 the week of 10 November 2008, the deployment of MEMS sensors in automotive applications such as tire pressure monitor aystems will see a three-fold unit increase from CY2007 through CY2009, while the MEMS sensors used in consumer electronics and mobile applications will experience a four-fold unit increase over the period from CY2006 through CY2012. Silicon DRIE processing is at the heart of MEMS sensor manufacturing, and it is also becoming an increasingly important process application for modern power device fabrication.

About Tegal
Tegal Corp. provides process and equipment solutions to leading-edge suppliers of advanced semiconductor, MEMS, and nanotechnology devices. Incorporating unique, patented etch and deposition technologies, Tegal's system solutions are backed by over 35 years of advanced development and over 100 patents. Some examples of devices enabled by Tegal technology are energy-efficient memories found in portable computers, cell phones, PDAs, and RFID applications; megapixel imaging chips used in digital and cell phone cameras; power amplifiers for portable handsets and wireless networking gear; and MEMS devices, such as accelerometers for automotive airbags, microfluidic control devices for ink jet printers; and laboratory-on-a-chip medical test kits.