It looks like Canon will continue to use " CYMER INSIDE"
Canon And Cymer Sign Extensive Partnership Agreement To Provide Worldwide Lithography Support
SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 11, 1998--Cymer, Inc. (NasdaqNM: CYMI), the world's leading supplier of the excimer laser illumination sources essential for deep ultraviolet (DUV) photolithography, and Canon, Inc.'s Semiconductor Production Equipment Group, today announced they have finalized an extensive and progressive agreement regarding all aspects of their association. Company officials report that this most recent agreement further augments the companies' existing strong alliance by defining their mutual focus on support and services, product reliability, warranty, selling, purchasing and forecasting.
According to Edward Poplawski, assistant director of operations for the Semiconductor Equipment Division of Canon, Inc., U.S.A., the agreement may be the most comprehensive of its kind in the lithographic equipment segment of the semiconductor industry to date. "Canon and Cymer have acted jointly in identifying and establishing a successful program that will reach and benefit all our global customers. We have a shared commitment to continue to enhance and improve the support we offer lithography end-users and device manufacturers in virtually every major chip producing region of the world," said Poplawski.
Pascal Didier, Cymer's senior vice president of worldwide customer operations noted the agreement focuses strongly on the needs of DUV end-users. "This rapidly expanding technology arena is not only extremely critical in today's fab, but also increasingly complex. To ensure that our joint customers are able to fully leverage the power of DUV, they need ready access to world class technical support, service and spare parts," said Didier.
Consistent with this effort, the Canon Semiconductor Equipment Division, in cooperation with Cymer, has established a program to train Canon service personnel on laser support for its DUV steppers. Over the past year, Canon has been sending its service managers and key account service technicians to Cymer's facilities for laser training classes. Eventually, all Canon personnel providing support for the company's DUV steppers will attend the training sessions.
While Cymer will continue to have primary responsibility for warranty support of lasers, the added strength of trained Canon staff with DUV laser experience on-site, or locally, will give customers significant advantages, explained Tony Nakajima, national service manager for Canon's Semiconductor Equipment Division. "It will help shorten maintenance response time so they get more productivity from their tools," Nakajima noted.
Depending on customers' specific needs, Canon will develop a comprehensive service support program involving labor, spare parts and consumables. In addition, the company is assigning senior managers to interface with Cymer on all aspects of their shared customer relationship "In this way, Canon and Cymer can assure that customers will not encounter any unnecessary delays or confusion due to unclear job responsibilities between the two suppliers," added Nakajima.
For over a decade, Canon and Cymer have worked together on DUV technology developments. Canon's large installed base of DUV systems, from its early prototype FPA-4500 and FPA-3000EX1 systems introduced in the late 1980s, to its latest step-and-scan units, have featured Cymer's lasers as the standard illumination source. The company's early generation 0.25 micron DUV steppers-the FPA-3000EX3 and the FPA-3000EX3L 300 mm DUV stepper-have used the Cymer 4000 Series laser. The newest generation of Canon DUV steppers, the FPA-3000EX4 and EX5, as well as the Canon FPA-4000ES1 step-and-scan system, are featuring the new high output Cymer 5000 Series coupled with Canon's proprietary on-demand laser control technologies. These unique features reduce gas consumption, minimize degradation of the optical components and extend laser chamber lifetime. Additionally, the higher intensity of the 5000 Series provides increased system throughput.
Cymer, Inc., is the leading provider of excimer laser illumination sources for use in deep ultraviolet photolithography systems targeted at the pilot and production segments of the semiconductor manufacturing market. Further information on Cymer may be obtained from the Company's SEC filings, the Internet at cymer.com or by contacting the company directly.
The Semiconductor Equipment Division of Canon U.S.A, based in Santa Clara, Calif., is a leading supplier of step-and-repeat and step-and-scan photolithography tools used in semiconductor fabrication and of large panel aligners for AMLCD flat panel displays. For more information, please access usa.canon.com.
Canon U.S.A., Inc., is a leader in professional and consumer imaging equipment and information systems. Headquartered in Lake Success, N.Y., Canon U.S.A. oversees sales and marketing, manufacturing, and research and development throughout North, Central and South America and the Caribbean, employing more than 10,000 people. Canon, Inc., headquartered in Japan, employs 75,000 people worldwide.
CONTACT:
Cymer, Inc.
Pascal Didier
Phone: 619/451-7300
Fax: 619/618-3035
or
Canon U.S.A., Inc.
Phil Ware//Yuan Zhang
Phone: 972/409-7800
Fax: 972/409-7849 |
