Article on CYMI in today's NY Times. Mentions Lambda-Physik twice:
Two other companies trying to make similar lasers -- Komatsu Ltd., a Japanese bulldozer manufacturer, and Lambda-Physik, a German subsidiary of Coherent Inc. of San Jose, Calif. -- have not shipped in volume yet.
And, after some discussion of reliablity issues,
Longer term, two challenges face Cymer.
One is the loss of its monopoly. Shimamura of Nikon said he expected that both Komatsu and Lambda-Physik would be shipping by early next year. Japanese companies, uncomfortable with reliance on an American company for such a key technology, are likely to buy heavily from Komatsu.
Cymer has responded by contracting with Seiko Instruments to manufacture its lasers in Japan, but Komatsu has threatened a patent suit against Seiko.
Making reliable lasers is easier said than done, however. Komatsu, for example, had to pull one off the market a year and a half ago.
The other threat is that as transistors get smaller, a technique to replace the company's laser will be needed as early as 2005.
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