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KOBE, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 16, 1996--Applied Komatsu
Technology (AKT), a leading producer of PECVD (Plasma Enhanced
Chemical Vapor Deposition), PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) and
Etch systems for Active Matrix Liquid Crystal Display (AMLCD)
manufacturing, has passed its 75th system shipment.
Norman Turner, AKT vice president of product operations, said:
"Our systems and process technologies are proving themselves in
high-volume, cost-effective production at most of the major AMLCD
manufacturers. We are the global market leader in PECVD, and are
extending our market share in PVD (sputtering) and etch, especially
as our third-generation platform, the AKT 3500, becomes the standard
for larger substrates."
In July 1996, the AKT PECVD 3500 system received the Grand Prize
award for display manufacturing equipment at the Fine Process
Technology Exhibition and Seminar in Tokyo.
The company's single-substrate, multi-chamber system
architecture has played a decisive role in AKT's industry-leading
market position, complementing its advanced TFT process technologies.
The architecture has received U.S. patent 5,512,320, and patent
applications for this technology are pending in Japan and Europe.
Beginning in 1991 as Applied Materials' Display Technology
organization, and continuing with the formation of AKT in 1993,
the company has pioneered the cluster concept of single-substrate
processing for LCD panel manufacturing.
AKT's 1600 platform processes 400mm x 500mm substrates at high
throughput (up to 60 substrates per hour) with fully automated
glass handling. In 1995, the same platform architecture was scaled
up as the AKT 3500 model, for substrates 550mm x 650mm in size. Both
systems employ single-substrate process chambers, as well as dual
loadlocks which each can be loaded with a batch of substrates.
A key feature of the unique architecture is its preheat chamber,
which heats the glass substrates slowly (more than seven minutes) in
a batch before processing. With substrates already heated to near
process temperature in the preheat module, rapid processing times of
up to one substrate per minute make the systems highly
cost-effective in high-volume manufacturing. After processing, the
substrates are returned to a cooling cassette in either loadlock,
which permits a long cooldown time.
Applied Komatsu Technology Inc. is a global company focusing on
TFT-LCD manufacturing equipment, providing advanced technology
solutions to TFT panel manufacturers worldwide.
CONTACT: Applied Komatsu Technology Inc.
Betty Newboe, 408/563-0647 (editorial/media)
Charles Lewis, 408/748-5819 (editorial/media) |
