Applied to exit implanter business
Mark LaPedus
EE Times
(02/13/2007 10:42 AM EST)
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Applied Materials Inc. Tuesday (Feb. 13) announced its intention to cease future development of ion implanter products and will close its operations in the arena — a move that impacts 270 employees.
The company will close its Applied Implant Technologies group based in Horsham, England. Approximately 270 employees located primarily in Horsham will be affected by the closure, which is expected to be completed by the end of December 2007. Applied expects to record total costs in the range of $90 million to $130 million over the next four fiscal quarters in connection with this plan.
Applied (Santa Clara, Calif.) will discontinue the development of the Quantum X Plus. Established as the first single-wafer, high-current implanter in 65-nm production, the Quantum X Plus enables device scaling with increased low energy, high dose performance. Its fixed beam technology combines with a precision mechanical scanning system to provide unique capabilities in logic and memory, according to Applied.
The company reportedly lost a major implanter deal at Intel Corp. at the 45-nm node, sources said. Applied and Varian have a huge installed base at Intel, but Intel decided to go with Varian at the 45-nm node.
Applied will continue to supply new and refurbished tools to meet customers' capacity requirements. Comprehensive support for customers, including field support and spare parts, will be provided through the company's Applied Global Services group.
"Our implant business has a long history dating back to the acquisition of Lintott Engineering in 1980," said Mike Splinter, president and CEO, in a statement. "Unfortunately, the implant equipment business has changed over the past few years and moved towards commoditization and projected financial performance does not warrant further expenditure in next-generation beamline implant products."
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