Semiconductor equipment manufacturer ClassOne Technology announced the sale of its Solstice S4 fully-automated wet-processing system to one of the world’s leading VCSEL laser manufacturers, TRUMPF Photonic Components. The new Solstice S4 will be installed at the TRUMPF Photonic Components facility in Ulm, Germany. The announcement was made jointly by Byron Exarcos, ClassOne CEO, and Dr. Matthias Lessel, TRUMPF Manager of the Unit Process Development Group.
“We are implementing new technologies, and the Solstice S4 will help to enhance our level of process automation,” said Dr. Lessel. “The ClassOne organization has always been very supportive in helping us meet our schedules. Most importantly, in our new process development we’ve been seeing very good first results on the Solstice.”
“TRUMPF is a leading-edge manufacturer and they’re building very advanced VCSELs and photodiodes on gallium arsenide,” said Exarcos. “Our Solstice S4 will be helping to automate some of the wet-etching processes for those devices. The S4 can have up to four chambers; and for TRUMPF, the tool has been configured with special spray-etch and spin-rinse-dry chambers to streamline production. The Solstice also allows for quick and easy switching between three different substrate sizes, which is a very important feature for their productivity.”
ClassOne explained that the Solstice platform was specifically designed for ≤200mm wafer users and allows for a great deal of modular flexibility in its configuration. Depending upon the choice of processing chambers, Solstice tools can be used for electrochemical plating as well as for a range of wet-chemical surface preparation processes, such as High-Pressure Metal Lift-Off, Resist Strip, UBM Etch, and more. In addition to the four-chambered fully-automated S4, ClassOne’s Solstice product line also includes the eight-chambered Solstice S8 for automated high-volume production and the dual-chambered, semi-automated Solstice LT for process development or lower-volume production.