STS Aims At MEMS Volume Production
The new Pro series consists of three platforms
The MultiplexPro, a single wafer or batch plasma etch or deposition system consisting of vacuum loadlock with one etch or deposition source (process modules) mostly for R&D
The MACSPro Multiplex Atmospheric Cassette System is a cassette-to-cassette upgrade for load-locked systems. This is an upgrade to the MultiplexPro system to reconfigure it into a higher throughput system for pilot production
The ASPECTPro is a dedicated, high throughput, cassette-to-cassette cluster platform for fully automated volume manufacturing
The platform adheres to a set of optimised parameters based on etch rate/throughput, etch performance/quality (the Q-factor), system price, system uptime, footprint and consumables. Systems often claim "best of breed" status but only by addressing isolated criteria. Unfortunately, the ability of any one company to claim success in one isolated set of parameters falls short of addressing customer needs - the best of every parameter - at a cost per die that fits with their business model.
Andrew Chambers, Technology Director of STS, says: "Comparing products solely by their excellent etch rate on an unrelated test structure or making a comparison by system capital cost is deceiving. It is the overall package that includes the lifetime cost of ownership of the system and parameters such as reliability and the speed and effectiveness of support. That determines what product offers the best solution in terms of cost per die."
STS says it aims at the highest reliability, highest repeatability and performance across a broad and multiple set of parameters that include etch rates, reproducibility, lifetime cost of ownership, reliability, footprint and consumable materials usage. The company also has two key patents - Enhanced SOI capability for the ASE process (No.6,187,685) and Parameter Ramping for the ASE process (No.6,051,503).
The technological benefits of adopting MEMS have been apparent for a number of years. However, many companies and suppliers have been unable to commercialise these breakthroughs at a price that can replace existing technology solutions, or in a manner that can meet the demands of a volume production environment.
The company is clearly making a bid to become one of the leaders in this potentially lucrative new market. STS CEO Ian Smith believes that the market for MEMS will see approximately 45% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in unit volumes in the next two years. The number of MEMS devices per person in the USA is expected to grow from less than two today to more than five by 2005.
The evolution of MEMS has been slow largely because higher device costs cannot compete with existing technologies. However, STS believes, MEMS has gained significant traction in the past 18 months because an increased number of foundries are offering low volume production.
In addition to the production challenges, the packaging of MEMS devices and systems needs to improve considerably from its current 'primitive' state. MEMS packaging is more challenging and expensive than IC packaging due to the diversity of MEMS devices and the requirement that many of these components must be put in contact with their environment. Today packaging makes up between 30 to 80% of the total cost of each MEMS device.
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