FBH buys ClassOne Solstice S8 tool
ClassOne Technology, a supplier of new wet process tools to the 200mm and below semiconductor industry, has announced the sale of its flagship Solstice S8 wet process tool to the Ferdinand-Braun-Institute (FBH) in Berlin, Germany.
As a leading research institute in the fabrication of III-V compound semiconductors, FBH specialises in prototyping leading-edge microwave and optoelectronic devices for a diverse range of industries, including communications, energy, health, and mobility.
"Solstice is a perfect fit for the III-V compound semiconductor processes that FBH specialises in," explains Olaf Krueger, head of FBH's Process Technology Department. "The exceptional flexibility of the Solstice platform will allow FBH to efficiently automate a number of distinct processes on a single tool. We expect to retain the fine-grained control needed in our research environment with the added production benefits of complete cassette-to-cassette automation."
FBH is the latest example of a growing trend in the compound semiconductor industry - the need for integrated plating-related processes as part of a comprehensive plating solution. ClassOne's eight-chamber Solstice S8 will provide FBH with electroplating and wet processing capabilities for a range of processes. In particular, gold plating will be performed by a pair of ClassOne's class-leading GoldPro chambers, and a new high-pressure spray solvent chamber will process highly-efficient Metal Lift-off. ClassOne has dubbed the wide range of plating-related wet processing capabilities on the Solstice platform as Plating-Plus.
"The configuration flexibility of Plating-Plus and the exceptional quality of our plating chambers are why ClassOne has become the supplier of choice for the compound semiconductor industry," says Roland Seitz, director of ClassOne's European Operations. "Solstice is perfectly suited to the complex processing requirements of compound semiconductors. By placing several related processes on a single tool, FBH will enjoy processing efficiencies and device quality that simply cannot be achieved by any other supplier."
