Here's some interesting news
DANBURY, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 28, 1997--Epitronics
Corp., a subsidiary of Advanced Technology Materials Inc.
(NASDAQ:ATMI), announced today that it is now shipping 100 mm
aluminum gallium arsenide (AlGaAs) heterostructure bipolar
transistor (HBT) wafers to selected customers.
Demand for HBT wafers is driven by the need to manufacture
linear, low noise/high gain components for rapidly growing PCS, GPS
(global positioning systems), satellite TV, and other wireless
communication markets. HBT-based components have features that, in
the hands of systems engineers, can offer higher performance at
lower cost in systems for a broad range of wireless applications.
The HBT can be realized in a variety of material systems, e.g.
AlGaAs, InGaP, or InP - each with its own set of advantages.
Duncan Brown, president of Epitronics, said, "Delivering 100 mm
HBT wafers to our customers is an important step in our business
plan. Our customers have led us to increase our AlGaAs capability
and capacity to support their near term needs as their businesses
ramp-up in 1997 and 1998. We've invested in advanced characterization
tools, added to our technical staff and will take delivery of the
first of our high throughput multi-wafer production tools in Q3 1997
("ATMI's Epitronics Unit to Increase Epitaxy Capacity," April 16,
1997). Looking forward, the financial strength of our parent, ATMI,
should continue to give us access to the resources required to remain
current in the market."
Tim Murray, director of marketing and sales, commented,
"Epitronics has demonstrated competitive capability in all of the
HBT materials systems. Our customers will want to produce even
higher performance devices in more complicated materials systems.
We intend to support their development work and be a single source
for current and future products. Our goal--provide value by
reducing our customers' time spent on engineering and development to
accelerate getting their products to market."
Mike Tischler, vice president of operations stated, "The AlGaAs"
HBT wafers are the first to be manufactured in a new, high
uniformity production system monitored using statistical process
control. By providing extensive non-destructive characterization
data with the wafers--and subsequently working with the customer to
correlate device data with materials properties--we will be making a
major advance toward our goal: delivering the Known Good Wafer(TM).
These capabilities support our drive to continuously improve our
understanding of our customers' definition of quality." He added,
"The process of meeting our corporate commitment to ISO 9000
certification in 1998 is being used to increase our investment in
quality systems that help us exceed our customers expectations."
ATMI is a leading provider of advanced semiconductor materials
and environmental equipment. It is also developing next-generation
semiconductor devices based on its new materials technologies.
Epitronics, an ATMI company, is a leading supplier of high
performance wafers and thin film materials for wireless
communications and optoelectronics devices.
Statements which are not historical information are forward
looking, which involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not
limited to: changes in semiconductor industry growth or ATMI's
markets; competition, problems, or delays developing and
commercializing new products, and other factors discussed in ATMI's
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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