ADC Optimises Near Field Holography Manufacturing Process
CCN Disclosure - September 04, 2000 02:01
MUNICH, GERMANY--
For Use in the Integrated Optics and Semiconductor Industries
Through its recent acquisition of IBSEN Micro Structures A/S, ADC has optimized a manufacturing process, where very small nanometer structures can be transferred and replicated in high volume manufacturing setups.
Target application of the Near Field Holography (NFH) process is within the optical industry especially in the telecom industry, where the need for integrated optical circuits such as distributedfeedback (DFB) lasers and other grating-based integrated components is growing rapidly.
ADC's NFH process, together with its Phase masks, enables replication of structures as small as 100 nanometers in large-scale manufacturing using cost-effective contact print technology to manufacture optical gratings. E-beam and crossed laser beam alternatives are less practical in a production environment due to high costs of ownership. Also, optical stepperspresently lack the resolution capability in addition to a high cost-of-ownership value.
ADC has pioneered the commercialization of this process together with Karl Suss, the world leader in mask aligners for the semiconductor industry.
Per Ibsen, director of research and development at ADC in Denmark,states that "Although the basic principles are easy to understand,as we are dealing with a lithographic process well known from the semiconductor industry, there is the important difference that we are operating with much smaller structures, which adds complexity to the process. believe that the NFH process will be adapted by many companies in the semiconductor, optical and sensor industriesaround the world, since the benefits from our process are so convincing in terms of cost savings and productivity".
According to Mr. Elmar Cullmann, Principal Scientist at Karl Suss,"The development of a proprietary NFH manufacturing process by ADC, combined with our mask aligner technology, enables us to offer solutions to our customers that historically have been impossible. Now we can go beyond traditional printing techniques and can offer tools that are capable of reproducing grating structures down to 100nm line size. We are impressed by ADC Denmark's professionalism in this special field of optical technology and their ability to provide workable solutions".
About Karl Suss
Karl Suss is a global supplier of manufacturing equipment and process technology for advanced packaging, microelectronics and MEMS market. With over 6,000 systems installed, SUSS products include coating and developing systems, proximity lithography systems, substrate bonders, flip chip bonders and probe systems. Headquartered in Munich, Germany, Suss operates 9 manufacturing, sales and service centers in North America, Europe, Asia and Japan. To learn more about Karl Suss and its full line of products, please visit our web site at www.suss.com
News release issued on behalf of Suss MicroTec AG (Ticker Symbol SMH at Frankfurt Stock Exchange Neuer Markt), holding company of Karl Suss, www.suss.d |
