SAMCO is proud to announce the release of our newest deep silicon etching system — the RIE-800iPBC — for MEMS and TSV production processing. The RIE-800iPBC is the latest in SAMCO’s etching system lineup, and was officially introduced by SAMCO at SEMICON Japan 2013 (the world’s largest exhibition for semiconductor equipment and materials), held in Tokyo from December 4-6, 2013.

The RIE-800iPBC is an extension of SAMCO’s highly reliable and reputable RIE-800iPB system designed for deep silicon etching for R&D and semi-production applications, and includes a vacuum cassette chamber as well as a wafer alignment chamber. Both the RIE-800iPB and RIE-800iPBC can process up to 8″ wafers, and are capable of achieving etch rates of over 50 μm/min and etching uniformity of less than ±3%. Additionally, both systems have features that allow for low-scallop and notch-free processing on SOI (Silicon on Insulator) substrates. The RIE-800iPBC is a mass-production system designed with easy maintenance in mind — reaction chamber parts, RF generators, turbo molecular pumps, etc. can be removed and exchanged simply and safely.

Aggregate growth of the MEMS market is anticipated due to the widening of the MEMS application area involving deep silicon etching for various sensor and inkjet head applications, a rise in TSV processing, and developments in the medical field. As a continuation of over 34 profitable years in the compound semiconductor field, SAMCO now aims to be a leading supplier of etching solutions in the MEMS field. In August 2013, SAMCO’s R&D Division initiated the “MEMS Project”. The MEMS Project team developed the RIE-800iPBC and is actively involved in boosting system performance and application support. SAMCO’s existing lineup of plasma CVD systems, used for deposition of insulation films in MEMS, is complete with both R&D and production-type systems. The introduction of the RIE-800iPBC system completes SAMCO’s lineup of deep silicon etching systems that serves the MEMS market.

The pursuit of new businesses is one of SAMCO’s mid-term objectives. Developing solutions for MEMS applications and securing a foothold in the growing MEMS market are key parts of meeting this objective. The MEMS Project team is collaborating with SAMCO’s OPTO Films Laboratory in Silicon Valley to extend MEMS technology to fields such as general health care and sports medicine. SAMCO is looking into the expansion of the MEMS application field by incorporating MEMS technology in data communication systems (smartphones, tablets, etc.).

 

About SAMCO
SAMCO (TSE: 6387) was founded by Osamu Tsuji in 1979 as the Semiconductor And Materials COmpany (SAMCO). From its modest beginnings in a garage in Kyoto, Japan, SAMCO has grown into a $50 million corporation with more than 150 high-level design and production research associates at its corporate headquarters in Kyoto, Japan, sales offices in China, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, North Carolina and Silicon Valley, California as well as agents in Europe.

 

For more details on silicon DRIE systems, please visit the product page below.
Silicon Deep Reactive Ion Etching (DRIE) Systems