ATMI AND METARA SIGN JOINT DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT
DANBURY, CT - September 11, 2002 - ATMI, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATMI) and
Metara, Inc. today announced they have signed a joint development and
manufacturing agreement. Under this agreement, ATMI has acquired rights to
integrate into its new chemical management system an OEM version of the
Metara system for analyzing chemical constituents of liquids used in
copper electrochemical deposition (ECD). ATMI has concurrently taken a
minority equity position in Metara.
Doug Neugold, ATMI President, said, "The semiconductor industry is
uncovering critical efficiency bottlenecks during the migration to copper
and low-k materials. ATMI provides semiconductor manufacturers with
innovative process efficiency solutions, and Metara is a leader in process
metrology automation. We believe our joint development agreement with
Metara will enhance our current state-of-the-art bath analysis technology,
helping to yield better chemical specificity and response times. Together,
we can enable our customers' plating roadmaps with a cost-effective copper
electrochemical deposition management system for the semiconductor
industry."
C. Patrick Franklin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Metara,
said, "We are excited by the confidence that ATMI has placed in Metara
technology and products. Under our joint development program, we will be
working closely with ATMI, a leading semiconductor materials supplier. We
see Metara technology as a key component in enhancing the ATMI copper
process efficiency products." |
